One Year in the Life of a Sincerly Mad Witch
by mind drifter
Summary: I, Hope Elizabeth Finry, Seventh Year Slytherin, wonder why my best friend keeps saying I have a thing for my DADA teacher, Lupin, no, I do not have a crush on him...do I? Enter at your own risk the diary of a sincerly mad witch throughout her 7th year!
1. Week One

A/n: So this is basically a story centering an OC, she's in her seventh year at Hogwarts. In the hp-World we're in book Three, so Harry's also at Hogwarts but in his Third Year. There is some teacher/student stuff in here, so if you don't like, don't read. It's not written as if it was just a normal relationship, quite the contrary, the story's also about the struggles people in such a delicate relationship have to go through.

Loads of humor, and bit of romance (more in the later chapters, now's more an introduction and basically a mix of all stupid things the character goes through).

Read, Enjoy, and please leave a Review to tell me what you thought of it.

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**Disclaimer: **All places, characters, plots and names you recognize aren't mine but property of JKRowling.. The OC's, the plot and other invented things are mine.

**Special Thanks** to those who reviewed this chapter: **Kahhhrissa., Shiroi Yuki Aoi Sora, MissRiddle7, Hades'Queen, midnightsprite.  
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**Week One**

Wednesday, 1st September 1993.

I'm just a girl, I'm nothing special. I'm not highly intelligent, courageous, sweet or even cunning, though that's exactly what my house is known for. Nor am I the main character of a prophesy. I'm not a quidditch star, neither a duelling expert nor a healing mistress. If someone asked about the amount of boys I've had I can only answer: a few, but even that's a lie. I've never had any relations with guys, some had interest, but I didn't feel the same way towards them so decided not to engage myself. I'm not bi or homosexual either.

When people say I'm a little clumsy, I laugh at them and hit something and fall to the ground excusing myself to the object, because that's an understatement, I'm not just _a little_ clumsy. I used to know a girl with the same clumsiness, Nymphadora Tonks she was called. We were good friends until she graduated, three years ago. We promised to keep contact but the owls that used to be rare after two months are only being sent for events like Birthdays, Christmas and New Year now, because I'm too lazy to write.

In contradiction to Tonks, who was a metamorphmagus, I have no special skills or talents whatsoever. My looks aren't special either: I'm a well developed young woman of 18, witch, about to start her seventh and last year at Hogwarts.

My worst classes? About all of them. Best…I used to be good at Divination, but with someone like Trelawney as a teacher I kept on failing even though my predictions were true. I'm not a seer though.

My dream career? I used to wish I could become a healer just like my grandfather, but start realizing I should go looking for something else.

I failed my history of Magic owl and I'm currently taking Charms, Herbology, Potions, Transfiguration and Defence Against the Dark Arts NEWT levels. Talking about the last, we should normally get a new teacher, our previous one, Gilderoy Lockhart, didn't last more than a year, just like for the one before him, Quirrel, the post seems to be cursed.

One of my least favourite things to do…Being on Platform Nine and Three Quarters, hopelessly seeking for some known face, and actually, that's what I'm currently doing...

The steaming engine stands still on the rails, the Hogwarts Express has always drawn my admiration with its fiery red and proud look, never has it failed to impress the observing ones. But right at the moment I have other things on my mind. As I move forward to the train, my trunk wobbling behind me, I have only attention for the people around me. Desperately I look from face to face in an attempt to recognize someone's traits, a friend or even just acquaintance, anyone is good as long as I'm not alone in the midst of an immense crowd of crying, shrieking and overjoyed youngsters.

Deciding to have a look at the different compartments in the train I almost stumble, or better, fall over a first year.

"Can't you watch out!" I don't even try and answer to that. Giving the midget a stern look I pass him by and step onto the train. These kids nowadays, I wonder were they got their education, I suppose in a free packet of Bertie Botts, really they have no respect anymore, _I_ certainly wouldn't have dared reacting like that to a s_eventh year_ student, really, it's despairing.

I keep thinking about the previous situation when my attention is drawn to something. As I had a glimpse through a compartment door, my eyes got adverted to look through it's windows to catch a glimpse of someone on the platform, and not just _someone_. Well not recognizing her would be so very wrong from me. Plus that girl is not the sort of person you can look next to. Her head kind of bobbles out of the crowd, high above the towers of 'little' kids we have to deal with nowadays, wondering just what their mums gave them to feed on. And if you don't recognize the girl because of this it's most certainly for she takes two seats instead of one. Earlier I would have added 'the trail of waist long brown hair dangling from her head', but to my surprise she has cut it off to a more stylish and short hairstyle. True to be told, I could have recognized Melaina Parcher out of a thousand people.

Getting a grip of my highly evasive thoughts I sprint through the small and luckily only _slightly_ crowded corridor and jump out of the train, my faithful trunk following me through the adventure.

"Millie!!" Waving madly at her I feel my body getting out of balance and collapsing against some highly towering body.

"Oy, Liz, I'd never thought you'd miss our dear brother to that point!"

"George-" I say stupidly as if it was some new kind of greeting or even as if it meant something.

"Don't worry thought, he'll be all yours if you want to-" And that must be twin number two, Fred.

"-just ask us and we'll get his girlfriend out of the way." George, again, grins down at me and for a moment I'm so jealous for he is younger, yet taller, that I'm not even listening to whatever the twins are saying to me.

Old Perce seemingly _was_ listening as a nice red colour matching his hair just fine appears on both his cheeks. "Stop it, both of you, I-" He starts with his 'stick-up-the-bottom' tone as I like to call it.

"Yes we know you're big head_ed_ boy Perce." retorts Fred, winking at me. Well that was some news I kind of had figured out since last year.

"Fred, George, come and say goodbye! Oh hello dear, I suppose you're Hope Finry, you're in Percy's year right?" says a plump lady who seems to be Mrs. Weasley.

I nod and smile down at her before clarifying. "But call me Elizabeth, it's my second name, Mrs Weasley." Yes, I hate my name, that's why I always use my second one.

"It's been a pleasure to meet you, I guess we'll see each other!" replies Mrs. Weasley politely before turning back to her innumerable sons.

"Hi, I didn't know you were close to these…" A voice that I directly recognize says behind me snatching me back to planet earth.

"I'm not…But, hi how are you doing Millie, it's so great to see you again!!" And upon seeing her again from close I realize she's grown, well at least she'll be able to shade me away from the sun even better now.

"I know, two months is such a long time!! So much has happened!" As she opens her mouth to start her tales of far away countries and aboriginal cultures we hear a whistle shouting onto the platform indicating us the train is soon to leave.

"We'd better get on the train." Mill comments uselessly, shouting because of the sudden uproar the whistle has caused, but I nod nonetheless.

"Ready for our very last start of year?" I yell in her ear barely hearing myself over the crowd.

"After you!" And at the count of two, we both step onto the train for our very last ride from Platform Nine and Three Quarters to Hogwarts, and therefore our very last year, if we don't fail at least…

As the sight of people pressing their way through the small corridors meets us, we decide to go looking for a compartment ourselves. This will prove to be very hard, seemingly this year brought up a lot of first years which leaves us with a lack of compartments, but as we are both last years and Slytherins it shouldn't be all too bad.

"Get out of here will you!" "Next door…" "Yep" "Occupied." "Carry on." "Sor…oh hi! There's still room over here Millie." I shout behind me to what's supposed to be my best friend but I soon discover is actually a quite shy looking second year who is looking wide eyed at me.

"I'm here." A sound rises from my left. "Can't we go searching for something _else_?" she adds giving me a pleading look.

"Oh don't be silly, nowhere else's free, plus these are our _friends_." I emphasize the last word sending a warning look her way knowing all too well how fast something could go wrong when Millie was around these 'friends'.

"Right…_friends_…" She answers grimly with a monotonous voice, entering the compartment nonetheless.

I hurry to sit in the middle of Eva or Eve Cavendish, and Elizabeth Butler, commonly called Eliza. Both girls are rather nice, even if they are a little bit too superficial (for Eve) and a little too tight on rules and studies (for Eliza).

Melaina goes to sit next to Rosheen Brannigan, who prefers to be called Rose for some reason, although the rose as a flower has nothing in common with her rough features and manners. Rose is the kind of girl who likes to make a complete dramatic story out of a little useless thing and then drum it in your ears every time she sees you. She's sure she has a superb social life and loads of friends and thinks this gives her the right to boss everyone around and be rough with you. It's only normal for some normal mortal person to accept all her snide remarks and bow for her each time you see her.

Melaina doesn't like them, she has settled that early on and the feeling is shared. I never knew just who started the hate feelings, but when I got to know them better they already hated each other. Not to mention that the three girls never understood, and still don't, just why I started to spend my time hanging out with Milly. When they ask me I mostly think to myself: 'Because she's not full of herself, not bothering me with stupid things each and every time and neither taking the role of adoptive mother.' But I mostly simply answer: She's my best friend. If I had the misfortune to let my thoughts slip I'm afraid life at Hogwarts would be a little hard to live…ah well, I could always tell them at the end of this year, then again, I might need them one of these future days, after all, Rose has put it in her head to become a healer…and since that's my dream career…

I suppose anybody hearing me would wonder just what I'm still doing with these three girls if I don't even like them. The answer's simple, though hard to give. At Hogwarts, and more like at Slytherin, there is a certain hierarchy, and with this I don't mean a headmaster/teacher/student one, I mean a hierarchy between the students, amongst them. In Slytherin you have the winners and the losers. The winners are the famous ones, the ones who have some kind of power, they can say it all, they have authority. Next to this you have the normal people, they're mostly the slaves of the famous elite. And then you have a small group of loners or duo's who are trying to survive, I highly respect them, for one has to be very strong to survive being alone and still independent.

Melaina is one of the last groups, she's the kind of person who rather be alone than in bad company, and yet doesn't let anyone boss her around. But I'm not strong, I'm like the sort of person who doesn't like to be all alone, because she feels like she's a loser then. It's sad I know.

Rose is a quidditch player, Eliza has high notes, which perfect to get good grades yourself, kind of a free personal tutor and Eve is the sort of person every boy wants to have, which is perfect for connection at Hogwarts. So being close to them brings me just above the level of slave. But I also have my add of power to the group, I'm a proud prefect indeed.

There's a big silence until Rose segues random subject after random subject boring us all. Finally after about ten minutes that seemed to last for hours and in which I checked my watch thirty times thinking it had to be broke, I decide to stand up to head to the front carriage for the prefect gathering. I do feel a bit bad for leaving Melaina alone with such girls, but after all there's nothing else to it. Now come to think of it, I don't understand why I've been appointed prefect. Maybe Eve's a bit stupid and shy to take the job, and Rose is way too busy with her quidditch already, but really, Eliza could've taken the job quite easily. Anyone in his right mind would have chosen the studious Eliza, but that's were it hits, Dumbledore's not the sort of guy in his right mind.

After half an hour of talking I'm rather happy with the planning we've set up, I have duties only the Saturdays, that's the sucky part, and the Tuesdays. Before going back to our compartment I decide to just make one little round around the train matter of staying my 'responsible' self. Translation: Percy Weasley bullied me into doing so, ah really, making him Headboy is not good for Hogwarts students, perfect for teachers though.

I finally reach the last compartment, my duty's simple, I open each compartment to look in and give each person inside an evil 'I'm watching you!' look to make sure they understand they'd better not mess up with the rules, here and there I add an order like 'you should get into your robes, we're nearing Hogwarts' just to prove myself I still have some authority after that little accident with the snotty, I'm sure he'll be in Gryffindor, he had all the traits for that house at least.

But something's wrong with the compartment, there's someone inside, not a student. I open it up and ask the person closest to the door, a bossy girl with bushy hair, who the guy is.

"Professor RJ Lupin, it's written on his suitcase, he's sleeping." She answers as if it's the most logical thing to always look on someone's suitcase for further introduction. With some further inspection I recognize her, she's Potty's friend, and yes there he is in the compartment too, sitting next to the Weasley, Weasel for the rest of the Slytherins, but I respect the Weasley family, since they respect me. I reserve the Weasel title for freckled-faced Perce who put me up with the dirty job he didn't want to do, I bet he's up there in the front compartment snogging the head girl, Clearwater.

Anyway, the guy must be a new teacher for the dark arts. I'd have liked to see his face, but never tickle a sleeping dragon as they say plus I'm sure he must be some old guy, so I decide to leave without further ado to join Melaina and my oh so dear friends.

Everyone seems a little shaken as they get out of the train, well the contrary would surprise me, after all we had just a nice visit from the Dementors. I still don't understand how they've been allowed in here. Rose had just been telling about Sirius Black's escape when they entered occasioning much uproar in each mind. They soon left luckily and as we are about to climb into some carriage we're already starting to relax a little. Rose just joined some fellow Slytherins boasting about, saying she wasn't scared a second and that she repelled them with a simple hex. The truth is somewhat different, she had been sobbing slightly and I was the one who repelled them with a patronus, hex I learned form my dad. But Rose's too proud to ever admit that piece of information and I'm too considerate and nice to slightly point it out for this time. (In short: I'm too lazy and don't really care)

We find an empty carriage, yep one for us alone at last, was about time to be alone, we haven't even be able to ask each other how our respective holidays had been like. As I am about to close the door suddenly something holds me from doing so, a hand, attached to the body of the professor I'd seen sleeping in the last compartment only that he's not the old ragged guy I'd taken him to be, but a rather young and nice looking man.

"May I sit in here?" He asks and we both nod, wide eyed, as he takes place in the carriage…well seems like tales of holidays adventures will have to wait a little longer. For now I should try not to blush too obviously…will be hard.

The carriage is about to start when the door opens again to reveal none other than Brittany Towers. Just some clarifications here, I hate the girl. She's a Ravenclaw, something I don't understand because she's utterly stupid. Second thing is that she _thinks_ we're friends.

She greets me brightly as if we actually know each other closely, I don't even _want_ to be seen with her in public, let alone with a teacher, he might think we're close or even ugh, friends. Let's hope he has a politic of separating friends then.

If she hadn't been there no word would have been spoken all through the ride, I would just have kept my eyes on the view of the castle by night, outside. But another thing about that girl is that she can never shut her mouth, she just feels as if conversation is always needed, some capital thing people can't live without.

"Scary things, eh, those dementors?" She starts regardless of the fact that there's an unknown teacher in the same carriage, seemingly she's above that, all my hopes fading away... I on the counter side, I'm not, so just decide to shrug and keep my eyes on the picture outside. Melaina must be doing the same, I don't really know, and wouldn't dare checking it out for myself.

Instead of getting the signal, the girl keeps blabbering though. "Have you heard about Harry Potter, he fainted from what I've heard!" With that she let out a giggle that makes goosebumps rise up on my skin, she sounds like some sort of chicken when she does that and chickens are scary things, just like ducks, only ducks are scarier.

"Only normal, seeing what he's been through." I respond casually, well one day or another you have to answer to those sorts of people, and I wouldn't let her laugh with anyone, that would satisfy her too much. As I'd thought, she doesn't understand and asks what I mean, she really makes a _great_ Ravenclaw. "He lost his parents after all." I respond a little lower wanting nothing more than silence in the carriage and this way I hope against all hopes that the new teacher might not hear. I hate being overheard by teachers, something about them invading students' privacy.

"Ah please, everyone's all around him as if he's still a baby! And he was what, one year old, when it happened, you can't remember things as a baby before you reach your sixth year." She goes on playing with my patience, can't she just understand the very sound of her voice makes me cringe? Seemingly not.

"Ow yea? How comes I still have remembrances of my first days of muggle school when I was just two. Maybe I've imagined it all after all, who knows." I retort trying not to let the sarcasm dripple through my statement too much, she doesn't understand sarcasm anyway, which is very irritating, it's one of Slytherin's strongest features and it should scare all.

I chance a glance at the people inside the carriage, Melaina is giving a smug grin, she _has_ been doing like me since the start of the travel - looking through the window - seemingly she's proud someone has finally put Brittany back into place, and even moreso that it was her best friend doing so, Brittany is pulling a slight face, nothing to do with anger, she seems to be thinking hard and that teacher, I can't remember his name Lumpin or something like that, seems amused by the situation. Suddenly Brittany opens her mouth to retort but luckily at that very moment the carriage takes its stop and Melaina hurries to declare that we've arrived, stating the obvious.

We've just only gotten out of the carriage that some annoying voice reaches up to our ears: Malfoy. Oh how I hate that voice, it sounds so nagging and whining, he would have made a perfect Huffelpuff, they all have these voices that makes you want to twitch repeatedly. I wish I could just shut him up, give him a week's worth of detention, and I could, because he's bothering Potter, seemingly it's true what Towers had declared, he had fainted, and looked rather embarrassed by the Malfoy blonde pointing that out to him. But as much as I'd like to shut that insolent mouth I can't, I can't for the simple fact that Malfoy is, well, a Malfoy. His father's portrait's almost hanging on the wall in our Common Room. Lucius Malfoy is after all one of the famous Death Eaters, rich at that, and true to be told, incredibly sexy. Nothing like Malfoy Junior, Draco's his name, certainly not Lucius' idea!

Someone decides to take over the job I can't manage the way I should, and I hear Professor Liping - no I still can't remember the name - ask in a mild voice if there is a problem.

Malfoy gives his usual arrogant stare, the one he mostly gives to the students he's sure he can't kick the butt of without risking to get his own butt kicked by. Never does he dare giving it to a teacher, but I have to agree, for a teacher, this one seems a little…poor in money, which of course could only mean he's also poor in quality.

Finally Malfoy gets away nonetheless, closely followed by the golden trio Potter, Weasley and Granger (woohoo I remembered her name). I linger for a couple of seconds waiting for Melaina to bring her arse over to then stroll up the stone steps into the castle.

As we find a place in the Great Hall, Melaina is already starting her recital about what she did in the holidays. As I'd thought earlier, she had had an adventurous holiday full of travels.

"-really I wish you could've been there to see this, China is truly the best country I've ever seen whatsoever, I want to see Scotland though, but mom and dad think it's boring, they don't realise they're boring themselves, hah, and-" Nothing can stop the flow of words coming from the girl at that stage…not even the headmaster standing up and everyone, but she of course, quietening down.

"Melaine..." It takes some time before she let me speak. "Dumbledore is standing up and watches us evilly, I think we should shut up for a moment." I hiss between my teeth trying to move my lips as few as possible.

"Oh, right." She says seemingly caring the less that the headmaster was staring at her with twinkling eyes and finally broke into a friendly smile before starting his ritual speech at the begin of the year.

"Welcome." He starts, making a well-known move with his arms as if he's ready to embrace all of his students at once. I have a hard time keeping myself from cracking up and must've looked dumb smiling at nothing. Mental images are popping up of Melaine and I practising this move and imitating it the best we could to then follow with the speech saying stupid stuff like 'As you all know, snogging in the toilets of Moaning Myrtle is strongly unadvised.'.

But the headmaster has a completely different speech this time. This year he seems troubled and talks about the Dementors first things first. I have to admit they're real nasty things. On the train they were so cold and menacing, I hadn't dared admitting it yet but they frighten me. He doesn't linger on the subjects for long though, just makes it clear that now more than ever, everyone was to stay nicely inside the castle and not try and visit China! Pity, I'd put it on my planning for my spare time this year.

"On a happier note, I am pleased to welcome two new teachers to our ranks this year. Firstly Professor RJ Lupin -" Now this is a bad introduction, at least when you have to deal with people like myself and Melaine. We spend what seems half an hour thinking what the initials R and J stand for coming to the conclusion of: Reggae-man Jazz Lupin. We both have almost forgotten about the feast when suddenly loads of foods appear out of nowhere onto the Slytherin table, well not really out of nowhere, and I notice that Dumbledore is already sitting down, digging in, we haven't even heard the rest of his speech. It's really a problem with me and Melaina, we can't keep normal in a serious speech, and somehow we both find serious talking people so incredibly funny.

We soon found out what we just missed though as Rose starts bitching about Hagrid, seemingly he's been made teacher of Magical Creatures, or whatever the name is, I gave up on the subjects years ago, seemingly bowtruckles weren't captivating me, or at least that is my official reason. The truth is that I am just too scared of these beasts and have enough having to deal with all the freaky stuff my dad keeps at his home and the things Melaina wants to keep in our dorm.

After dinner Dumbledore speaks up again and yes once again I and Melaina crack up like two little kiddies listening to a lecture about genitals. Before completely leaving, Melaina lingers on in a hope to congratulate Hagrid, but partly due to my grumbling and also because seemingly the golden trio has had the same idea and Hagrid is already crying from happiness we don't stay for a long time.

Finally we manage to get ourselves to our Common Room down the dungeons, which isn't such an easy task, I wonder if we'd have managed if our Common Room would have been on a higher floor, it's always easier to go downstairs than upstairs after all. Even our dormitories are downstairs, the boy's dormitory being upstairs. Surely Salazar had something against girls because it's always so cold down the girl's dormitories while in the boy's dormitories the temperature is just perfect! In ten minutes time we're in pj's and flop down onto our beds, luckily warmed by some elfish charms, and sleep in as soon as our faces brush the pillow.

Thursday 2nd September 1993.

I always loved the first day of classes at Hogwarts. Teachers aren't really up to start teaching yet, apart from a few exceptions, so they just make up something to keep the class quiet and still make it enjoyable. Yes I like the first day of classes at Hogwarts. Even more after having checked my timetable, two classes today, one being after the first break: Herbology, the other right after lunch namely a double Charm.

For all I know, that day can't be spoilt, that is if I hadn't forgotten one primordial detail. I am starting my Seventh and last year at Hogwarts, and to teachers it means one thing: NEWTs. Ah yes these little sweeties had gotten out of my mind. The teachers always seem at the ready to stuff back forgotten details though and soon we all spend the entire day being stressed up for things that have yet to pop up in about ten months.

"Do you reckon what professor Sprout said is true?" Eva asks anxiety written all over her thin and tall features, seemingly she has swallowed all the nonsense the teacher tried to brainwash us with.

"Well what did you think? We're talking about NEWT's here Eve, of course it'll be hard work." Sounds Rosheen's answer, I suppose Eva's not the only one swallowing nonsense for free. Ah, Rose, still so skilled at making people feel better, I believe.

"Don't worry too much Eva, I don't see why we'd have troubled passing NEWT's, how many wizards and witches have managed before us? Many indeed, so I don't see how it could be that difficult." I answer making Rose snort, not a pretty thing to hear in the morning.

"You talk, I'm sure we'll have some real hard time, and I with Quidditch, I wonder how I'll still be able to train!" She goes on dramatically. 'Or better you wonder how you'll be able to survive without having any nauseating wound to brag about.' I can't help but think to myself.

"You're talking about Quidditch, I'm in the School's choir, it's nothing better." Elizabeth retorts suddenly accusingly, daring anyone to find something to say against that.

I sigh inwardly for this is going to be a long day having to hear these girls' self-pitying speeches. That is until I notice someone walking behind us. What a relief, my mind almost screams out. "See you later girls, I have some business to attend to."

"What sort of business." Rose replies shortly, I suppose she wants to harass me with some more complains, or maybe she has some wound to show me, but no, that can't be, it's too early, she hasn't had the time to nearly kill herself heroically on her broom.

"Just...business." I answer rolling my eyes, the girl's manners sicken me sometimes, why does she always have to take up the role of adoptive parent! And why always with me?!

"What's up with you?" pushes Rose on, making me really frustrated and at the ready to hex her, rules or not, Filch's cat or not, prefect or not, that's to what extend someone like Rose can bring her 'friends'.

"Nothing...mum...do I have to ask for a permission now?" I grumble lowly.

"Just let her, we can handle living without her." Eva answers with a note of jealousy and accusation in her voice that I don't miss. She obviously tries to make me feel all guilty and I try on my side to work up to her standards and give her a guilty look here and there, matter to not be bothered by her.

Once I managed to get away from them by slowing down my pace and waiting for the girl behind me to get to my level I utter a small "Hi.".

"Finally managed to get you away from them?" My one and only best friend, Melaina. What would I be without her? One of these stereotypical girls I suppose.

I give her a small smile, I've only arrived and I'm already tired of dealing with the three of them. "Yea, of course they had to take Herbology too." I moan not too loudly to make sure they don't catch that piece of conversations, they're only a few feet in front of us after all.

"Well almost everyone takes Herbology." points Melaina out shrugging her shoulders.

"No, it isn't that crowded." I answer suddenly thoughtful.

"Ah well wait to see Charms at least I have pretty empty classes, History of Magic and Care for Magical Creatures don't seem to be very popular." She changes subjects slightly.

"Then again, you are quite unique in your choices." I grin up at her.

She grins back and exclaims "Good to hear that!" when anybody else would have held a grudge against me for saying that.

We decided to go to our Common Room and play some Exploding Snaps to kill time. That seemed to be part of the first day events, loads of free time. We only stopped for lunch. Or at least when our stomachs rumbled (that meaning my stomach)

"Can't wait to see him again." Melaina says looking straight in front of her with a dreamy look, a dumb smile on her face.

"Oh yes, forgot you fancied Flitwick." I grin at her and we both start to laugh slightly at the private joke.

We both hurry to take a seat at the Slytherin table before she pushes on. "Don't you think he's hot?" She asks me.

"Yes very sexy, but not my type, sorry." I give her another grin as I load my plate with various foods.

Milly herself takes a sausage with her bare hands and starts eating it. "Well what's your type?" She asks between two bites.

Right at that moment a very tired looking professor -what was his name again- enters the Great Hall.

"Well Lupin does look like he had a hard night." Melaine grins mischievously following my gaze.

"Yea, maybe he had a hard time sleeping?" I inquire innocently.

"Or he had some kind of struggle with his drapery." She jokes on.

"Yea must've been that, or he had some quite nice visit from McGonagall." I go on, "She does seem to be in a dangerously happy mood today." I add to make my statement clear.

We both start laughing drawing some curious looks towards us to then restrain ourselves back to normal. After that we still get into some fits of laughter when we see McGonagall speak to the new teacher.

Soon though we have to hurry up to get to Charms on time.

On the way I can't stop my mind from wandering back to a certain teacher I remember the name of by some strange miraculous way: Reggae-Jazz Lupin "Do you think he'll teach today, Lupin I mean?" I wonder out loud.

"No, he just walked in to eat and classes start now, how on earth could he teach if he's still eating?" And of course she had to be right, she was almost always right that is. That's why I always lost these innumerable and highly stupid bets we put ourselves in. We were quite a pair, Parcher and Finry, known all around the school for their subtle practical jokes. Ok, maybe not all around the school, but McGonagall was watching us rather closely since last year, since the day we tricked her blackboard to transform into pond water the second her chalk would touch its surface, it hadn't been a pretty sight seeing her completely wet with green pond water, well it had fit with her eyes. We'd never gotten ourselves landed into detention for this one, even though I'm sure she has always had strong suspicions, after all we'd been the ones in charge of cleaning off her chalkboard one day earlier, she never asked us to do it again.

The thing remains that she still keeps us under her vigil eye, even when nobody has asked her to do so; I suppose she's made a personal matter from our case after that.

Charms hasn't been quite as interesting as I had hoped it to be: we've just gone through a complete theoretical lesson to summarize what we've been doing the last six years at Hogwarts with Flitwick. It was funny though to suddenly have pictures back from when we were midgets and had a hard time trying to levitate our feathers. Mine had caught fire after two seconds, I've never been a charms mistress…actually I've never been a mistress in anything, even though I am quite good at divination, I've given up the subject though like I said before, not quite good enough for later careers, pity.

The bell has rung a couple of seconds earlier and I and Mel are making our way to the History of Magic classroom, not that I've taken this subject, but Melaina has and I decided to accompany her, to then go outside and lazy off right in her sight, the very idea brings an evil grin up to my face.

I wave her goodbye before almost skipping down one level and arriving in the entrance hall were I make my way out. It's still very hot outside almost like it has been in August, the sun is shining brightly and I soon find a comfy enough looking place close to the lake. Once I arrive there I place myself facing the castle, it's hard not to twitch my eyes slightly as the sun is brightly shining against that part of the castle and the windows are happily reflecting its light. But concentrating long enough I soon distinguish Mel's figure, pity she doesn't see me…

That's when I see a small rock next to my feet. A mischievous grin appears on my face as I thoughtfully pick it up and try to aim the window the best I can, but me being myself I'm one story higher. Then remembering the boring charms class and the great remembrances of my first year levitating lesson I pick up another small stone and put it on my flat palm before taking my wand out of the pocket of my robes I flick and switch muttering the magic words. Slowly the stone levitates and I guide him over to the window letting it tick ever so slightly on its glass surface. I'm happy to see her look my way.

At this I give her a toothy grin and wave to her in a robotic way yet cheerfully. In answer she scowls and makes a not so delicate move including her middle finger. We then both can't stop laughing for a moment until there's a stop at her side, most certainly the teacher intervening, ah Binns, still the party-pooper obviously.

The problem remains though, I have a free hour, no essay, or at least no essay I want to work on, and no friend apart from maybe one of the magical three I shall not grace my presence with.

Sighing I decide to count just how many lessons are going on at this side of the castle. I'm at the count of ten when my eyes are suddenly crossing someone else's gaze somewhere halfway the second floor.

For a moment I just gape at him before realization hits me, it's Lupin, and when a second realization hits me (I know now where my first thrown stone has landed) I decide this is a great time to put a stop to the fun and get back inside. My brain has had enough time to regain some oxygen to survive till tomorrow.

When the bell rings for a sixth time that day I'm already sitting in the Great Hall having dinner, it's almost completely empty apart from some teachers, like Dumbledore and McGonagall, the latter one is still adverting her hawk-like gaze to me once in a while, each time her lips become smaller and whiter and her nostrils flare, I'm sure now she hasn't quite forgotten about the blackboard accident day.

First I respond her gaze and give her a broad smile almost as bitchy as Tower's natural one, but after an end I decide to just ignore the slight prickling whenever she looks at me.

I keep my head down for the remaining time until the prickling intensifies, looking up I see she's too busy talking to Dumbledore to think I might just prank her in front of the headmaster himself, so I go down the row of teacher at the head's table to suddenly lose myself into a sea of amber…Lupin…

So far I hadn't taken notice of the colour of his eyes, hard to do so when you haven't had a single lesson with him yet I must admit. But his eyes captivate me already nonetheless, I've rarely seen any like that, it's not really brown, like Wood's eyes, his could be compared with a pile of dung, but Lupin, they could be compared with gold, maybe even wood sap, but not with dung, they were rather warm and very lovely.

I snapped of it wildly when knuckles came into contact with my shoulder.

"Did I mention you were evil?" Melaina's voice rises as she takes a place next to mine, "averting my attention from all the lovely stories Binns has to tell me."

"You mean averting your attention from Binns himself, don't go thinking I haven't realized your undying love for him, I strongly disapprove your choice of taking his class just because of his breathtaking physics." I retort grinning madly at her knowing all too well she wasn't mad in the slightest, somehow I felt slightly irritated at her sudden break in, but I couldn't remember why.

"Yea I know, I admire your courage living without seeing him, you were drooling so much in his lessons." goes on Melaina snatching some cheese from a plate and bread from another before eating both as a toast. I suddenly remember all the times I had indeed drooled on my own very 'elaborate' notes as I slept all through the class.

"Uhu, well that's basically why I got myself a Troll grade at my OWL, it's nothing to do with courage, can't you see I just hadn't any choice, my heart's broken." I start dramatizing making a theatral gesture.

"Well maybe that's because you didn't deserve resting your eyes on his features." She says sweetly giving me a large smile.

"How dare you!" I answer in a high-pitched tone. "Hah, if you think this way then…I'm off…" And with a last dramatic wave I leave the Great Hall. Halfway the entrance hall I realize I've forgotten my bag, but I suppose Milly's going to bring it back to me soon enough…then again I'm not sure she might notice it…would the house elves take it away from the place or could I just leave it there and pick it up tomorrow morning…

As I stand in the middle of the hall hesitating between going back and just hurrying to my Common Room, a small door next to the big oak one of the Great Hall opens up with a slight creak and a shabby looking person steps into the light. Lupin. I finally take my decision, being the lazy arse I am I rather rely on Melaina, and I'll have all the right to blame her for forgetting my back tomorrow morning when I'll have completely lost it. Before I manage to completely get out of sight into the dungeons I see the teacher looking at me for a second and in that second I can't keep myself from noticing a small amused smile besides his pretty amber eyes of course which attract me for some unknown reason. I smile back for a second before finally making my way down making an inner note to myself to check the library for any kind of incantation to do with eyes, he might as well have slipped some kind of potion in my pumpkin juice!

Friday 3rd September 1993

Melaina forgot my bag. I blamed her for being a forgetful twat and accusing her to be even more forgetful than myself which is of course unforgivable. Luckily the house-elves slacked off and Filch was seemingly busying himself with more important things than looking for lost schoolbags, I don't want to know what!

Today I landed myself in my very first detention, from my oh so favourite teacher: Snape. The git! And then Gryffindor dares saying he favours Slytherin, well I'm not part of Slytherin anymore then. He might favour Melaina, but he absolutely can't stand me. That might as well be because of the itsy pitsy little blunder from my very first potions lesson, but I was just an innocent scared little naïve kid over then! You can't hold grudges forever! Even if I'm still mad at Melaina for being too unaware at times, I know I'm not considerate, don't remind me!

He had wanted to make an effect on the whole class as usual, being evil, doing his scary speech he seemingly hasn't changed since Potter arrived, he made it even scarier since then, must be a personal loath against Potter, I pity the boy if he has to deal with crooknose Snape.

The thing is, he had asked Melaina what you got when you mingled a boar's kidney with a daisy heart, a question we both still don't know the answer of. He had neared her trying to impress her, and managing quite well. She was shivering and it wasn't from the cold since the steam of the cauldrons brought all of us a rather hot blush on our faces.

"Well?" He had said suddenly, and inch away from her, "your father hasn't learned you that so far? He should have though." That's when I spoke out "Clearly it would have saved you from being poked to death by _such_ a nose." It hadn't even been my plan to mutter it aloud! But later experience told me that when around Melaina nothing came quite the way it was meant to towards others.

Well clearly, he didn't appreciate comments on his nose, poor bloke has a complex with his nose. The good thing is that I never got detention for that, he just tried to look threateningly down at me and then the bell rang and he almost screamed for me to get out of _his_ classroom. The bad thing is that instead of having to pay a week worth of detention I have had to pay six years of threatening so far. Payback's a bitch in his mind obviously. But this time it wasn't my fault!

In this lesson we had to make some potion (waw, really freaky task for a potion class) and I had understood we had to make a vanquishing potion. So I started and managed to do all the steps very well, the result was absolutely the way it had to be. I smirked at him evilly when I saw him going to my cauldron for a quick inspection on any comments to say on my potion.

"What's this?" He asked suddenly and I felt much less sure of myself. "Miss Finry, you were supposed to make a _vanishing_ potion, not a _vanquishing_ one, your ears should be cleaned, I suggest you could go see madam Pomfrey this Saturday, I heard she had loads of sheets to shrub off." And with this he cleaned the inside of my cauldron just when the bell rang as I got the sudden urge to respond something about how bad his pronunciation is and that it is unmistakably his entire fault if I made the wrong potion but I decide to restrain myself holding dearly to my free Sunday as if it were my very life.

He's really such a git this Snape, any teacher would at least have congratulated me for my good performance on my vanquishing potion, even if that hadn't been the basic task. I've always thought teachers not only wanted hard work from their students but also creativity!

This time I'm not the only one with a free period in the afternoon, so Melaina accompanies me to the library to get some work done since I won't be able to do any Saturday for I'll most certainly be scrubbing my fingers into bloody sticks up the hospital wing due to a slimy little sexually frustrated Snape. Oh yes, I and Melaina have made up, we've never really been mad of course, and after she said Snape's breath smelt like rotten fish I felt a rush of sympathy towards her and we both made our way to the library laughing like mad.

We manage to finish off our Charms homework which took about ten minutes, and get halfway our Potions essay about vanishing potions. (I checked the subject twice on Melaina's copy just to be sure.)

So it's with some self-satisfaction that I and Melaina step into the Transfiguration classroom to get back out of it loaded with another extra bit of homework we both know will take half of our Sunday to accomplish.

Saturday, 4th September 1993

I slouch onto the nearest cough once I enter the normally cold Common Room that now seems warm and very welcoming to my eyes. To be sincere with you, I've had enough of scrubbing the red dried-up blood from the, I assume, originally white sheets. I believe now, or better I can certify, that the house elves do not take this task to charge, there had to be hundreds of these and nobody will make me believe so many people get injured in only 4 days! I think my hand will never be the same anymore, in spite of the rather cold night they still feel hot and burning and have swollen up in an irreparable way.

'Git, git, git, git, greasy git!' I mutter under my breath trying to blow on my fingers to bring them back to a normal temperature. I swear to myself, he'll pay, my pretty fingers, the nails might have been bitten, they might have been completely scratched up because of a fiery owl, but even then I still had hope to see them back pretty and clean.

Now…well first off I'm not sure I might get the scary reddish colour off of the tips and between my nails. Secondly the smell will never leave. And finally, seeing the state of them I have just few hopes to get them back to working…maybe I could use this as a reason to be dispensed from classes: _'I can't take notes sir, look! Why would I even come to your class if I can't even take notes as I wish to, it would be far too frustrating.'_ But Snape wouldn't want to hear a word of it and Minny McGonagall knows my extends far too well to grant me even the slightest benefit of the doubt.

We all know that Snape hates me, and that for the simple reason that I didn't fall for his evil assumptions about holding death in a veal and brewing diseases, it's not my fault after all that my imagination doesn't reach further than seeing a couple of pink elephants once in a while and green birds a couple of times a day.

When he talked about potions the first day of classes in our first year it sounded like he was talking about some long lost lover, I swear, _'the delicate brewing of life, the serpentine steaming of a cauldron,'_ at such a level you're good to be accepted at Saint-Mungo's.

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A/n: So liked it, hated it? I updated this chapter to make it look more spaced, I hope it looks better now. (Thanks to Larry1710 for telling me)  
Tell me what you thought about this first chapter in a Review. Thanks already for reading and a special thanks to those who leave a little review, it's always good to have feedback!


	2. Week Two

**Disclaimer: **All places, characters, plots and names you recognize aren't mine but property of J.. The OC's, the plot and other invented things are mine.

**Special Thanks** to those who have reviewed this chapter: **Larry1710**, **BlackSnowPetals, Hades'Queen, Jes, midnightsprite.**

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**Week Two**

Tuesday, 6th September 1993

Monday wasn't very eventful for the simple reason that the only class I have then is Herbology at half past ten. Of course I slept in till ten and then had to hurry to get to greenhouse 5 just in time.

For the rest of the day I finished off my Transfiguration and Potions essay as, of course, I'd slacked off Sunday, too tired to do anything like homework. As much as I disliked the Monday for having to wake up so early, it had been nothing in comparison to Tuesday.

First off we have Charms that day, luckily only at half past ten, so there's no need to get grumpy about waking up early, of course that doesn't work for Melaina, the poor girl has History of Magic, I'm so glad I stopped taking it years ago! Charms isn't very interesting actually this year, so far we're seeing what we already know and it's getting boring after an end. But to make things clear I'd rather have hours of Flitwick's summarising than ten more minutes of Snape's Potions. But of course there was just no way for me to be spared, so as everyone who had been bold and crazy enough to take the subjects I was to go to the dodgy dungeons again for another hour in hell with Satan himself.

And…oh the git, bugger! Did I mention I hate him with every single cell of my very body? How could he, he so did this all to bother me personally! After my little blunder 'mishearing' vanishing for vanquishing he asks us to prepare the latter one. Oh how lucky of me, some people might be thinking hearing this, but that's not knowing Hope Elizabeth Finry, for I am, next to incompetent to make any potion in general, completely unable to manage a potions twice in a row.

Of course Snape knows that all too well, the only way I've managed last week's potions was by cheer luck, or maybe bad luck, for I might as well have gotten something close to the vanishing potions while my first attention had been to make a vanquishing one.

"Blue, Finry." He says looking into my cauldron stirring it slightly with a dipper. He wears a very smug look, of course he's only showing irritation, but I know better, I've learnt to see behind that mask of irritation to discover he rather likes bothering students.

"I'd rather settle for dark purple sir, Professor Dumbledore's favourite colour may I add.", I retort looking into the cauldron myself, if I want to be sent to Headmaster for talking back to a teacher and high indiscipline, I might as well try to play up to Dumbledore.

"Such arrogance shouldn't even be allowed Finry, how very like your father you are." He almost murmurs the end of his sentence making sure nobody hears a word of it.

Somehow the words strike me and the first thought that comes to my mind is also the first thing I let slip quite loudly. "Wait, how do you know my fath-"

"You should learn to hold your tongue! Don't make me use a potion to this very usage in the next lesson." He cuts me off right before the bell rings the end of the course and everyone hurries out the classroom to get to the next and last class of the day. I get out as soon as I can but I'm not following the herd of people to get to Defence Against the Dark Arts, even though it's the first time we'll have it and I shouldn't underestimate first impressions.

"Hey, where're you going to, we have Defence next, it's this way!" yells Melaina running after me as fast as she can handle running right now with her arms full of books she hadn't had the time to put back in her schoolbag.

"Owlery, I need to get something clear, but you can go ahead if you want." I respond starting to slow down myself to pick out some parchment, a pen and a bottle of ink.

"No, I'm coming with you, the less lessons, the better." She states finally getting to my own level.

By the time we get to the owlery most of the corridors are deserted and classes have started already. I finally set my schoolbag onto the firm ground making sure it doesn't land on bird dung though, which is quite a delicate task as the whole flour is basically made of that, bones of dead preys and a little bit of straw here and there. I try to make myself as comfortable as possible and start writing a letter in a hurried and shaky handwriting:

_Dad, _

_I've just almost landed myself in a second detention because of Snape. This time the reason was that I couldn't hold my tongue. He also mentioned I was as arrogant as my father. Since for all I know you're my daddy I'd like to know how you met Snape! Was he just lying to me (this wouldn't surprise me!)_

_Apart from that everything's fine over here._

_Cheers, _

_Your 'Kiddo'_

_Liz._

I roll up the bit of parchment and try to talk my owl into getting his arse down, which isn't an easy task until Melaina remembers she has some treats in her pocket, from that point on it takes three bloody seconds for him to fly to her outstretched arm. _'Traitor!'_ I accuse him mutely but bind the parchment to his leg nonetheless before taking him over from my friend and bringing it to the window. He doesn't seem decided to take off, lazy thing!

"Come on, bring that to my dad, Gerald Finry." At the very pronunciation of the first syllable of my dad's first name the owl takes off. The damn creature has always preferred anyone to me! And then I'm supposed to be its 'owner'! I don't get the time to linger on my shock for this outrageous treason as Melaina reminds me that we were supposed to be in class for already ten minutes now. We both hurry up and finally land ourselves in front of the door, staring at the hard wood.

"Go on, knock." I say nudging Melaina slightly, being too much of a coward myself.

"Are you mad, we're not even sure they're in here!" retorts my best friend and a rapid whisper. I lean forwards slowly decided to delicately lay my ear on the wooden surface in a hope to catch the activity inside but my sight being what it is I misjudge distance and ram headfirst into the door knocking my head heavily against the wood. We both get into a fit of excited and nervous giggling almost running away, both silently intending to just leave it and skip the class for today when a voice rises from the inside and summons us in.

"Ah, Miss Finry, Miss Parcher, I thought we were complete, as I was explaining to the rest of the class I haven't received the list of students attending NEWT-level Defence Against the Dark Arts class." his soft voice says as we take a seat halfway in the left row.

As I listen to his voice I discover a certain roughness to it, it's slightly hoarse and I appreciate this sign of virility.

I hadn't yet forgotten my misadventures with Gilderoy Lockhart. I must admit I had been rather infatuated by his 'natural charms' until I realized halfway my sixth year he had some rather gayish habits. Now don't get me wrong, I have nothing against gays, but it's just not really positive for a girl if the man she has a crush on is in fact gay.

My mother broke my little charming ideal world for me, the world where Gilderoy and I would marry and have kids and his new book would be entitles "She who caught my heart and captivated my senses." First she pointed out the ridiculously long title for a book, secondly she declared a book from Gilderoy Lockhart about why the other girls' hearts couldn't hope on to ever have him for themselves would be ridiculous and she completely finished me off with three words I'll never forget: He's gay!

My likeness of seeing Lupin's not gay has nothing to do with interest at all, I'm not a recidivist in liking teachers! I'm just glad we have a real man for once to teach us Defence Against the Dark Arts, he might be a better candidate for the post.

Some say Snape would like to have it, but Dumbledore doesn't allow him to, to which I give my complete agreement because let's face it, Snape is just too scary, any dark creature in his right mind would run off by the sight of his overly large nose.

Deciding it would be better to at least search for the subject of today's lesson I look at the blackboard, yes I'm very studious suddenly, to see the name RJ Lupin written in neat and big letters. I nudge Melaina to watch it too and we both give each other a knowing and amused smile. Ah yes, Professor Reggae-man Jazz Lupin. Soon I doze off to think again about how two music-mad parents could call their son this...

"I will now try it on someone random in this class to show you." Lupin's voice rises above my inner ones and I start to panic…try it on someone… _'Oh no he's looking at me, he's going to choose me.'_ This is probably the worst thing you can start thinking, at least in my case, because you can be sure that the teacher _will_ choose you when you think that. Must be something about the way I look at that moment, like a sort of expression that screams out 'I haven't been paying attention, choose me as a punishment!'

He suddenly pointed his wand to me and murmurs something I don't catch before I see bits of my life in front of my eyes, great parts and less good ones. Me at muggle school and I remember the day some Ivy told everyone I had lice even though it had been a lie and I was left all alone, me aged eleven gasping as I see the castle of Hogwarts for the very first time, me and my dad having to say goodbye to go back live with my mom, oh me and Millie being stupid again. I have no idea of what is happening to me, I get happy and sad at the same time from all the memories, then again I should've paid a little more attention. Before he breaks off I have one last weird thought of 'Chocolate...body...paint...' or was it 'pink power!' Well I don't really remember, not that it is of high importance, actually it doesn't really matter.

"What exactly happened to me?" I ask after class still feeling a little confused and dizzy. I'm having a slight head ache.

"He read your mind!" Melaina answers simply as if she was saying 'he gave us some homework', it clearly hadn't been _her_ mind!

"Wh...WHAT?" I on the counter side can't seem to recover from this news.

"Yea I know, I hope he didn't see all the stupid things we've been up to lately..." With that she means the last three or four years...naturally!

Thursday 9th September 1993

Did I tell how much I love Hogwarts? Classes start only at nine a.m., in comparison to muggle school were they mostly start one hour earlier. Yes it's great, but all the same...it isn't that great when you wake up at half past eight and still have to wash up and eat. _'Bugger.'_ And it's not in my habits to prepare my schoolbag earlier than two seconds before I leave the dorm.

One quarter later I'm up and clad and waiting for my best friend, who doesn't seem to bring her arse…then I realize she's already left without me, great. So I hurry to the Great Hall, grab a toast as soon as I sit down, Melaina's not here either - probably forgot me - and start to butter it when a firm grip drags me by my arm, away from the toast I dropped in surprise.

"Noooooooooooooooo!" I cry out dramatically not caring to know that almost the entire of Hogwarts is sitting in that same Hall, now looking at me. I reach my hand to my toast and with a bit of hiding I manage a _silent _summoning charm (Flitwick should be proud of me!) without anyone noticing.

Soon all the toasts snap out of people's hand or up from the plates, buttered or not, and start their journey to me. So basically I'm being under attack by toasts, I manage to dodge the first wave, almost getting one straight into my eye before I catch the last toast in my mouth. 'Mm, peanut butter...'

"Hey, that was my toast!" A blonde -no, scrap that- white boy whines from the Slytherin table, wait…it's Malfoy, I hadn't recognized him with the big bandage around his arm, I wonder briefly what he's gotten himself into this time but my thoughts get averted from their goal as I'm being "saved" by that firm grip that, -remember- was dragging me from my toast in the very first place!

"Rose!!" I don't know what to yell about first, making me leave my just-buttered-with-a-slice-of-love toast, dragging me in front of everyone, or controlling my life in general. I should think of that deeply but as they say: when in doubt, don't! "Look a pink bird!" is the first thing that comes to my mind.

I manage to get away with it and rush towards the first class, that'd be easier of course if only I knew what the first class was. Of course we have timetables for that, but mine is in my diary, that is currently in my bag, which balances against my hip over and over. _'Alright let's give up'_

"Defence Against the Dark Arts!! Hurry up" What would I do without Millie? Probably skip classes._ 'But my timetable was in my __bag__ professor! You can't see through a bag, at least __I__ can't!'_

Nothing spectacular happened in Defence Against the Dark Arts and I feel relieved to see that last lesson's problems wasn't going to repeat itself on a regular basis like I'd feared for it and I and Melaina are soon making our ways outside, she has Care of Magical Creatures and I Herbology. Suddenly halfway through the Entrance Hall Melaina hits her forehead and curses.

"You forgot your book?" I ask knowing her habits way too well.

"No, I forgot we don't have the lesson from Hagrid today."

"Why?" I retort indignantly, knowing others would be able to lazy off while I struggle with plants doesn't really rejoice me particularly.

"I'll tell you later, unless you want to be late, and since you've buggered me all the times I had class and you hadn't I'd rather know you're working your ass off while I lay back and enjoy." I give her a last indignant and 'dangerous' look before leaving in a hurry, not that I'm so overjoyed by the mere idea of studying the 'art of Herbology' as Sprout calls it herself, but I don't want another detention, my hands are still twitching at the very thought of it.

I get out of greenhouse 5 under what I think must be a ton of mud, dung and earth. The minute I get into the castle my objective fills every part of my body 'BATH BATH BATH BATH' I'm like a zombie looking for human flesh, I even manage to ignore the plaintive rumblings of my empty stomach claiming his earned food that is only passing at three feet away from him to go upstairs instead, straight to the prefect bathrooms.

I barely manage to grab some food, my belly is clearly not happy, second time today he has to do it with just a minimum food, but no time to think about this, I'm almost late for Charms, and Melaina's nowhere to be seen. I guess I'll just have to go all on my own.

"Well then, thank you for your attention, we will see each other next Tuesday. Class dismissed!" Flitwick makes a move with his little hands as if he's losing his balance or throwing dead leaves in the air, before jumping off his stack of books and making his way to the door.

"Watch out Millie, you're drooling." I grin up at my friend since she's so much taller than I.

"Hush, wouldn't want him to know about my secret crush." She winks back to me, going on with the inside joke we've shared for about over a year now. This whole game leaves us both as last students in the classroom though.

"I'm free, enjoy some chess game with me?" I propose as we make our way to the door.

"Nah, I've got another class, History of Magic to be more precise." She explains trying to cover her yawn a little.

"Ah, I feel for you." I automatically respond remembering my own History of Magic classes. Then suddenly I think back of this morning and am about to ask her once more why she didn't have Care of Magical Creatures when she embarks me into an entire essay about the History class, and some essay, the kind of thing Binns would be so proud of.

"Don't! I absolutely love it, we're handling about the legislation of Werewolves at the Ministry of Magic right now, very interesting, for example..." Ah how I wanted to tell her we don't share the interest for the subject, but she already knows this, and knowing her she'll only talk even more about it, so I just suffer through an entire two minutes of history when suddenly something jumps at my right hand, startling me. "Aw, what's that cuteness?" Typically Melaina to get distracted from History of Magic by nothing else than a Magical Creature…

"It's a Niffler, argh, these things are really irritating when they sense gold." I explain, firmly annoyed as the beast starts climbing up my body trying to reach my hand which I put high in the air by now. This doesn't stop it though as it start it's journey up my arm as simply as that. "Aaaah, take it away!!! Melaina, take it off me!!" But seemingly Mr Niffler two has joined the party and is being deadly cuddled by my so-called best friend. 'Alright, time for plan B.' this being trying to shake off the Niffler. This plan seems to work quite well...for five seconds that is, until the Niffler gets back to its own self and starts running after me in a desperate attempt to climb back to my beloved ring.

"Noooo, not my ring!! My PRECIOUS!!!" Finally I manage to shake it away long enough to make a run for it, if I get back to our common room and get inside and close the stone door fast enough, it'll lose track of my ring.

That is until my own 'best' friend comes in carrying the two nifflers. "Aw, aren't they just cute!!"

And there I go again, sprinting through the almost empty corridors of the school, the bell will ring in about two minutes and everyone has already reached his classroom. I'm about to reach a corner and turn around it but just at that precise moment someone decided to do exactly the same, the copycat! We both collide with such force (the biggest being from me and my sprint) that we end up sprawled on the floor in a heap of flesh.

As I open my eyes I see two little nifflers trying to crawl to me with all of their might. "Hey, you alright? Why did you run like a fool I've put them on a leash before I entered the Common room, Duh."

"Yea, duh," I reply sarcastically, "help me up will you, my head is absolutely killing me." I snarl back forgetting about the person who served as landing cushion and who's now lying under me playing mattress.

"Err- would you mind, I have some classes to give..." My eyes widen at the very sound of this voice...oh shit, why did I have to land right on none other than Lupin, and in a suggestive position at that too. He has his both knees folded and his feet are flat onto the ground, one of my legs is between his and...oh gods, he's holding my waist with one hand, the other still on his suitcase.

"Oh, s-sorry, I-I..." I try to scramble away from him at last, my face now worthy of making a Chinese Fireball dragon jealous. My waist, where his hand touched me just seconds ago, feeling warm and tingling.

"It's alright, could you help an old man though?" He responds, a smile spread on his lips. I can't help but be confused by these words, alright I have to admit that he has a few grey hairs, but from there on calling him old seems a bit big to me.

Soon he's back up, with only the help of Millie because I'm too busy trying to sink into the ground. "Well well, if I were Filch I think this would be worthy at least two detentions for each of you." We both look at each other with amazement, mouths slightly open as he sums our mistakes. "-Running through the corridors, carrying creatures with you other than the ones admitted and as for you miss Finry, colliding with a teacher-"

"That was an accident sir, I apologize, but you see-" Soon I tell the entire story, leaving the details and the stupid bits here and there…alright I just say the Nifflers were attacking me and I had no idea Melaina had put them on a leash so I ran for it.

"Very well then, you'd better return these Nifflers to Hagrid, it'll save him a lot of work searching them, and since I've never really approved of Filch's ways you may leave unpunished, but let that remain between the three of us, hm?" We both thank him at the same time making him smile.

"Go on then, off you go, this makes me late for the third years' first lesson though: Fighting off a Boggart." We excuse ourselves once more, well at least for my part too which he answers with an amused smile, and wish him good luck with the third years, not that they're exceptionally evil, quite the contrary, they're nothing to what we used to be at their age. The minute he leaves I get something shoved into my handpalms and when I look back to see what's happening I see Milly running off.

I start panicking when I realize just what I'm holding in my hand: the leashes. "Hey, what are you doing?!" I cry out shrilly.

"Take them to our dorm, Hagrid's not going to open, we'll bring them back after my class." The girl's mad, mad and out of sight, great…why are they looking at me with that mean look of them…O-ow

Friday 10th September 1993

I haven't slept all night…we haven't brought the Nifflers back, I _swear_ Melaina's doing this on purpose because she secretly likes them, she might even prefer them to me! How can she, it's not even imaginable, not rational, they've entered her life for only one day, she can't prefer a superficial one-day relationship to a deep-flooding six year relationship. Or maybe she's got enough of me, she's sick of my company and researches new one. Images of Nerissa, Slytherin's biggest loser in history; being the only available company flood my spirit, my body starts convulsing slightly at the very idea.

Sighing I try to remember how I even survived getting back to the common room save and sound…it's easy to answer, I haven't, I've got scratches all over my left arm and I'm not about to forgive them so soon.

"And when do you plan to bring them back to Hagrid?" I demand aggressively watching with jealousy the display of affection shown in front of me, Melaina is hugging both Nifflers.

"Oh, I don't know, Sunday I suppose."

"Sunday?! I won't let them stay until then."

"As if you can decide about this." She teases me.

"I can! I'm prefect!"

"Sure and you're going to ask Snape to step inside our dorm to retrieve the Nifflers right?" I grit my teeth and sigh out exasperatedly, she's completely right, I'd rather die, or even share my dorm with some Nifflers for two more days than let Snape have a free entrance to my knickers, diary and whatnot. The man's perverted enough to dare a look at my stuff…even just for blackmailing. Come to think of it I'm still waiting for my owl to get back with an explanation from my dad, it's been almost four days and my dad's home is not that far away from Hogwarts, barely half a day for an owl, then again maybe my dad has kept him in for some time. I can't believe I'm almost scared of the animal, the thing has never bothered about me! Why should I even bother about _him_? But I'm sure I'm just eager to get my letter, it's not about the feathery thing with wings that I care but the letter underneath it, tight to its leg. Finally getting back to the conversation as Melaina is now feverishly 'tickling' one of the…beasts, yea that's how I'm about to call them, there's no 'cuteness' anymore, that doesn't work with me, only beasts.

"Alright but I swear, if I have to get my hand into their stomachs to retrieve my ring I won't hesitate a second." I threaten to ensure my own ring's security.

"You wouldn't dare." Melaina answers clearly in a shocked state, she has stopped any action of hugging, kissing or tickling the beasts.

"Oh really?" I answer with a daring look wriggling my fingers in front of her until one of the Nifflers makes an almost deadly jump for them and I decide it'd be safer to just leave them for now and get to classes and what _great_ classes again: double potions, could it have been worse? The answer's yes, why of _course_ it can _always_ get worse.

"Liz, pst, Liz." I turn around to the impostor who claims to be my best friend suddenly while she was committing treason three minutes before with 'the beasts'. "Help me, _please_."

"What again?" I ask coldly looking at her side of the table were she points out steps number three and six: Step three: 'Cut a handful of wolf spiders into small even cubes.'; Step six: 'Add three worms while they're still alive and stir two times clock wards.' It's hard to describe whether this discovering makes me warm up or even become colder, both I'd say, from one side I warm up towards Melaina, but on the other side cold sweat starts making its apparition on my forehead as my eyes only see the words spiders, worms and alive.

"I can't, you know I can't." Melaina whispers hurriedly clearly panicking, I was looking at the steps unbelievingly myself, the dead spiders would be hard to achieve already, but _living worms_ the sort of thing that fights for freedom in your hands…and what if they scream when I throw them in my cauldron. A small voice tells me worms don't scream to which I answer: _'How do __you__ know, do you throw them alive in hot potion everyday, eh?'_ Before I can even try to imagine a muffled worm-scream I see Rebecca Scott, a Ravenclaw girl whom I share most of my classes with throwing me a questioning look.

"Hey, Scott…Rebecca." Might as well try to sound nice, "Could you cut some spiders for me, please, I'll repay you whatever you want." I'll manage the worms by rolling them on a bit of parchment and shake the parchment above my cauldron, but cutting _two_ handfuls of spiders, no way.

"Merlin, don't tell me you're actually _scared_ of _spiders_, Finry." Am I happy I haven't asked her for the worms… "They're more scared of you than you of them, and anyways they're dead!"

"And they're so much smaller than you!" Brewer answers, swishing his long blond hair back with the back of his hand in the process, I'd almost forgotten about Brewer. He's as superficial as the last man on earth having to choose between a billion women all mentally cloned, he's as shallow as his focus and so dumb ants seem to carry more intelligence than him, add to this that three quarter of his brain is used to think about sex the entire time, one eighth of his own beauty and the rest of his brain is essentially for primary needs. His favourite game is to imagine girls naked, when I heard about this I felt bad being watched by him for at least one week afterwards. His name is Kimberley Sydney Brewer, and he's a Huffelpuff seventh year boy.

One day he told me about his name, the freakiest day of my life so far, I'd never talked to the guy and there he was starting to sum up all of his three names and explaining their story, that Sydney is the capital of Australia (which I always thought was Canberra) and that his last name meant beer, it all came out very confused though so at the end the version became that he lived in Australia and brew beer, really freaky.

I asked him if his parents liked Australia, because given Sydney as the second name for a son is really freaky. He looked at me dumbly for an instant before answering '…No.'

Later it came out that _his girlfriend's name_ was Sydney, by then it was already an ex-girlfriend. Sometimes he tries to stop me to talk about his new one, Julia, and how far they've gotten, which doesn't really interest me, so I keep trying to run away from him.

"Size doesn't matter!" Melaina suddenly says in a complete serious and way too loud voice attracting all attention upon the two of us. I understand the girl, she used to have a crush on the guy, like everyone here seemingly…but me…and probably Nerissa, but she's oblivious to males. I suspect the boy to be a veela partly…

"Miss Parcher, could you explain your statement?" The perv Snape says to Melaina watching her in his usual evil and threatening way, underneath of course conceals the pervy Snape look only I can see, the kind of man whose eyes slide down once in a while as a slight smirk appear on their lips.

"I-I-I-" She stutters getting red in the face trying to look everywhere but into his eyes or even face. After a minute or so of extra torture, Snape judges it more interesting to torture some Gryffindor who seems to be perishing in desperation as his potions starts to produce an excess of dark red smoke and we're left alone with the spiders and worms for the rest of the lesson.

As the bell rings, I and Melaina almost jump for the door, eager to leave the room of damnation in a hope to never have to set foot in it again, knowing thought that by next week's Tuesday we'd be here again wishing we'd stayed away from it. We both merely manage to eat anything, pictures of twitching spiders and worms sliding from between our fingers as we close our eyes to stop the trauma as we sit in silence. I wonder though if the thought of Kimberley doesn't haunt her more than spiders and worms…

Finally she announces she has to leave early to get to Divination on time and we take separate ways in the entrance hall. I decide to read a little lying in the sun, I have the vague impression that these are the last days of sun we'll have for the year, so I'd rather enjoy Mr. Sun for the remaining time.

When the bell finally rings I realize I'll be late for Transfiguration, oh joy, and as if my life couldn't get worse I have the pictures of squirming worms and twitching spiders displaying in front of my eyes the minute I close my book.

Sunday 12th September 1993

The big day's here, yep the day has come the twin beasts are going to be brought back to Haggers, or Hagrid to make it more official eh. I'm in such a happy mood! Anything could happen, nothing can spoil the day I…ok maybe _that_ could.

"Why are they unleashed?"

"They need some freedom!"

And we go again for another sprint almost breaking half of the beds. Finally she manages to catch them back and we hurry to bring them to Hagrid before having breakfast. On the way to his hut I suddenly remember Melaina skipping Care of Magical Creatures.

"You haven't heard it then?" She asks looking quizzically at me. "There has been an accident with the third years. Hagrid wanted to score big for his very first lesson last Thursday and showed them Hippogriffs."

"Hippogriffs? Who did he want to impress!" I exclaim, almost absolutely out of myself until I see Melaina's face and remember she sees them as beautiful and probably agrees with the speech about 'if you treat them with respect they won't hurt you' "They aren't seen as dangerous creatures, but still only for competent wizards!! And his students were what-?" I decide to add.

"Third years." She responds, "Hippogriffs aren't dangerous as you said, and for Creatures, Hagrid is competent enough! Well anyways, from what I've heard Draco Malfoy, you know Lucius Malfoy's son, you do know Lucius Malfoy don't you?"

"Well he's rather hot and rich yea…" Of course I know the sexiness with all his expensive stuff and big manor, duh!

My dear friend sighs and starts her explanation. "He's a pureblooded wizard, 'bit like my family, has an important place at the Ministry and loads of money as you said, but my dad tells me that he's not as good a wizard as his father used to be, I don't believe it though, because my father even says that from my two big brothers and just everyone in general, that 'with the generations, they have more and more lacking and less talent and principles' 'Started with the Potters, and their only son, married a mudblood, hah' that's what he keep saying to us." I can clearly see the hate written all over her face by thinking of her family.

"Yes but what does that have to do with Hippogriffs-" I could almost kill myself for being a stupid twat, but, being a stupid twat, I can't…if that makes sense. The problem is that I'm so careful with how words come over to others that sometimes I make big blunders. She doesn't seem to realize this though.

"Ow right, sorry. I heard that Malfoy insulted a Hippogriff and as a result he got attacked, very bad affair for Hagrid, for a week now my timetable hasn't shown the Care of Magical Creatures anymore, as if it's been cancelled." She takes her timetable out of a pocket to show me that the classes don't figure on it anymore indeed. I look at it for a moment before realizing something.

"So that's where he got his injured arm from…" I murmur thinking about how stupid the boy can be, surely his mother must've cheated on Lucius Malfoy…

We finally arrive at Hagrid's hut though and soon he welcomes us with a cup of tea and his usual rock cakes looking a little crestfallen though. We sat there for about five minutes when Melaine shot up from her seat.

"I forgot my essay for History of Magic, I'll never manage to finish it off and I'm already late to hand it in!! See you later!" Essay I've never heard of, but knowing Binns it doesn't surprise me, he must be feeling bored lately…

"Don't worry too much, Binns won't even notice, he's in another world after all." I grin as she closes the door and runs to the castle.

Soon I and Hagrid get into small talk, his face lights up once in a while, but sometimes he looks completely down. We finally talk for about two hours until a silence invades the room and I wish Melaina was here to bring back up some conversations, after all she's closer to Hagrid than I.

"Hagrid...Don't you have any classes to prepare? I hope I'm not bothering you." I try to start a conversation as subtly as possible.

"No, I...yeh aren't..." He answers with his deep voice not daring to look at me.

"How has the year been so far?" I ask softly, trying to sound casual.

"Ar...don' tell me yeh haven' heard abou' the accident with Buckbeak." I hear him sob slightly which brings up a pang of pity going straight to my heart.

"Buckbeak?"

"Buckbeak, yeah, Hippogriff." He does a move with his hand to show me the flying and make me understand.

"Ah, yes I've caught some things about that. Hagrid, everyone has accidents like that, certainly in classes like Care for Magical Creatures, it's traditional. You just didn't have luck it fell on your first class, but it could've been worse, no?" I lean forward trying to see his eyes, when I do though I regret my move as I see his tear-stained face.

"Malfoy, yeh know jus' wha' that means? He's got all school gov'nors at his feet!"

"Maybe, but don't we have Dumbledore?"

"Yeh sound like Lupin, he came along an hour or so before you arrived. Good boy tha' Lupin, remember when 'e was a schoolboy 'ere. Always quietly admired tha'. He used ter be prefect, jus' like you're now."

"Well, I'm not really a good prefect to say the least." I mumble before falling into silence again, right at that moment though the bell rings, indicating the start of lunch.

"You're coming for lunch?" I ask Hagrid hopefully, trying to bring him back to the world of Hogwarts and make sure he doesn't keep himself locked up all the time.

"Nah, I'll jus' 'ave dinner 'ere, 've got work ter finish off." I decide not to push it, after all it's still up to him to decide.

With that I leave the hut and go grab some food, the sky is already starting to darken with the shade of dust as I like to call it, soon it's going to rain and I have a premonition that we won't have bright sun for a long time…why did I ditch Divination again?

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**Reviews are always welcome! Thanks for reading.****  
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	3. Week Three

**Disclaimer: **All places, characters, plots and names you recognize aren't mine but property of J.. The OC's, the plot and other invented things are mine.

**Note:** I first used the term 'spick' in the letter from Hope's father to Hope. Since some people have mentioned having a problem with the word I've changed it into 'latino'. I'm sorry if it hurt anyone, it wasn't my intention, I had looked it up in a dictionary and there it stated that the term written with ck wasn't offensive.

**Special Thanks** to those who reviewed this chapter: **Padme4000**, **Whit Black**, **Emberlyn Knight**, **Aljinon**, **Hades'Queen, acidoceans** .

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**Week Three**

Monday the 13th of September 1993.

It was with an insane headache that I woke up this morning, don't ask me why, I'm already mad enough that when I mentioned it to Melaina she claimed it was because I clearly had missed Niffle and Noffle, the two Nifflers we'd brought Hagrid back only yesterday. Yea she gave them names…she gave the _beasts_ names and keep calling them her sweeties.

"I miss these sweeties, and don't even try to deny you miss them too, your subconscious misses them, it's trying to tell you by giving you a headache, only your rational brain doesn't want to accept the facts."

"What facts? That I miss being half bitten and scratched to death by two monsters trying to steal my ring."

"They don't want to _steal_ it, they just want to sniffle it, that's why they're called Nifflers."

"No! NO! You, you're always on their side! Has it never occurred to you that this ring has a sentimental value to me! You allied yourself to such, such, evilnesses it's a calamity, the devil itself is represented by Nifflers, you worship the devil!!" Ok, I'm clearly not in my right state, what's happening to me, I don't know, but it's getting weird, really. Soon I realize though, as I have a look at my wristwatch, it's only eight, I need sleep. So I smile to myself, tears in my eyes, and fall back to sleep. I'm really such a baby when I get less than my daily five hours of beauty sleep.

I finally get up at ten, a more reasonable time to get out of bed, really all hours with only one digit are so ungodly to wake up to! It's clearly with a better mood that I skip to the Common Room. I've always found this common room freaky…it's so…green…and…silver …that may be because green and silver are our house colours, but does everything have to be green and silver because of this stupid reason, even the sheets are green and silver. I wouldn't want to be in Gryffindor, red and yellow, that must be dangerous for the brain really, it's not a surprise all these Gryffindors are so 'brave' they just want to die out of frustration rather than step foot into their tower. It's only halfway my green and silver common room that I realize there's a regrouping around the display board. Me being myself, this meaning smaller than most of the fourth years, I have to use my authority to make a way passes the crowd to see what it is about.

Finally I reach close enough to read the little piece of information: Hogsmeade weekend on the 31st of October. That's when I notice another, smaller, piece of parchment: The Flying Lessons for the Seventh Years are planned on Monday after Lunch and will start the twentieth of September. Oh no, I'd completely forgotten about Flying lessons and 20th is only next week! Ah, see how a mood can be spoilt in about three seconds by a stupid discovery, I'd rather have remained in ignorance.

Let me explain, I hate Flying lessons, and yes even seventh years have them, not only firsties, the thing is that when I decided I'd ditch the lessons back in sixth year Hooch personally came to see me to ask me to take her class because I had 'a born talent for Seeker I still had to discover' and I could have given her the brush-off, she couldn't possibly have any more influence on my grades really, but that's when my problem kicks its way in: I love compliments. Now I hear you going: duh who doesn't? But that's when you don't get the gravity of the problem: I really _really_ love compliments. That's probably why I still socialize with other girls than Melaina on my dorm at all, because, face it, I _hate_ Rose in particular, sometimes I could just scratch her eyes out, but then she's like: oh you have such a beautiful writing, and me being me…I give in…which is bad of course, it's bad to depend on somebody else's compliments and thoughts, but I'm like that and there's nothing to it. A shrink, as muggles call them, could probably find some link to my childhood and the lack of compliments then, but the result remains that I melt with a compliment and get icy cold at the lack thereof.

So that's how I got myself landed into these dreadful flying lessons, telling myself on and on I should ditch the subjects, but each time I realize the class isn't that bad (well Hooch likes me for some reason) and 'forget' about never coming back. Anyway, the woman would probably run after me to remind me I have a _flying lesson_ right, because I'd probably have 'forgotten it' really.

This news brings me so down I think I'll have another one hour or two of sleep, doesn't matter whether I have Herbology, I'm in no mood to struggle with life-threatening, stinking plants, then again I'm in no mood to deal with an angry Snape either.

While in Herbology (I managed dragging myself there, and on time either!) I can't help but realize that with flying lessons I won't have any agreeable one class Monday but a horrid one class and a hellish flying afternoon class added. This was my last flying-free Monday, had I been in a sensitive mood, a single tear would be sliding down my cheek right now, but being in my right mind I just heave a desperate sigh making all the seeds I am supposed to plant this lesson on my tabletop fly off its surface. Bugger. "Miss Finry, you want to be careful with these, they're very rare and expensive!" I get the impression she says that each time, might as well steal some one day or another…I could earn some money with them…but my evil thoughts have no time to bloom into good structured plans as the bell rings announcing the end of this very boring class.

I finally meet Melaina at the Slytherin table, no she's not eating, she's just reading plucking some food here and there, that's her way of eating stuff.

"What's wrong?" She asks as she sees me slouching down on the bench in front of her.

"Flying lesson in a week, need I say more?" She gives the look that tells me she's about to say something like 'Haven't I told you not to take the class, it's only for fanatics' but seeing how dreadful and desperate I'm being she stops herself from doing so and tries to cheer me up instead, which works rather well as usual. Soon we go downstairs to our common room and decide to play some exploding snaps and talk about stupid jokes we could do one day or another, practical pranks and dirty stuff like usual. These things never fail to make me all cheerful again and it's finally with a good mood that I fall into a peaceful slumber.

Tuesday the 14th of September 1993.

Guess what, Charms is boring. Yeah, Flitwick has decided to teach us, grab your stool, Conjuring Spells, the thing is that most of these spells have been seen years ago, seemingly little Flitwick has put it in his wicked mind to prepare us thoroughly for the NEWTs at the beginning of our seventh year, and not like all teachers midway or simply at the end of it. If only Milly was here to entertain me, but she's seemingly decided to skip the class, and it's not a matter of sleeping till noon, she was awake this very morning so she's clearly just playing truant! I have nothing against that, being one myself most of the times, but she should have _told_ me and we could have gone and have fun together. I sigh for the hundredth time this morning. "Don't you understand Miss Finry, it's all about the nice wrist move, look: you turn smoothly and flick it at once down." I try to nod as if suddenly he had enlightened me on a spell I had managed since the second lesson we had seen it, other students around me seem to still struggle with it, sometimes I feel like I'm a genius in a world of stupids…then again that's just the teachers making us like that, they make a big deal of something simple as if it was the hardest thing on earth and then when things get really complicated they just skip through it as if it was basic stuff. Or they're doing their job wrong, or my mind is just reversed.

It's at lunch that I meet Melaina for the first time today apart from that little sight I got of her this very morning. "You left me to deal with your crush all alone!" I accuse her the second her bum brushed the surface of her bench. It has taken all of my patience to not just shout it the second she entered the Great Hall though.

"Ow, that, I wasn't in the mood, went to see Hagrid instead." I grumble in response. Soon we move on to another subject though and all is forgotten and cheery again, that is until an owl lands next to my plate outstretching its legs grumpily. It's an answer from my dad…about Snape, or better about how the two men met. I have no time to open it though as the bell rings and we have to hurry down to potions, for my part, leaving a completely pissed off owl, but that doesn't matter, the thing has never showed any hint of affection towards me, a bit of attention more or less won't change a thing to it I suppose.

We have to make a shrinking potions today…something I don't get the concept of. I mean, if you want to shrink something, a normal witch or wizard will take his or her wand and utter a shrinking spell. But _Snape_ will first go get some ingredients, find a cauldron, make a fire, find all the utensils and starts brewing the potions to then shrink the thing…does that make sense? Not to me really. So I don't see why I should even try to manage the thing in question.

"Finry how comes I have a faintly disgusting smell rising up to my nose when I pass your cauldron containing _dark green sticky_ potion." Oh the options I get here I could say: 'Because I farted, I'm so sorry sir' or even better put the blame on someone else, or just lets be crazy, I put the blame on _him_. Or I could say it's because something's wrong with his nose, 'Yes sir, it's getting all crooked and so ugly, oh wait it's always been like that.' But something stops me from talking, stops me from breathing normally, I suddenly see his beetle black eyes, and I think, no, I _know_, that I don't need to open my father's letter to know what's written in it. I've recognized Snape, I know how my dad and him met each other…for Severus Snape is none other than my stepfather. My eyes can't even bear the sight of his and I can't help but look down, keeping my voice silent. I'm awaiting another sneer comment but it never comes. When I dare to look up I realize he's gone, or at least, at the other side of the room looking paler than usually.

When the bell rings I hear his faint voice telling me to stay after class. Once everyone has left the classroom and I'm left with him slightly trembling he speaks up. "Miss Finry," How weird, he suddenly shows respect, "I suppose you have questioned your father about me, and I take he has answered you about my identity." I nod slightly. "Of course you will understand that this piece of information has to stay between you and me, I won't allow any _leaks_ of any kinds, and if somebody knows about it I will know, Miss Finry, to whom I have to advert myself to claim guilt." I nod again murmuring a small 'yes sir' before he allows me to leave.

After this I can't go to Defence Against the Dark Arts, I just feel like I'm about to break down any minute, so instead I decide to skip the class for once and call sick, I'm close to being completely sick anyway, so that makes no difference at all. I direct my walk towards the dormitory to seek some privacy, but as I enter I soon see I won't have it here. Seemingly I'm not the only one not feeling in the mood for another class, Melaina's lying in her bed reading a book.

"What's wrong? You look like you've been puking." She asks the second I walk in, looking up from her book 'A history of Vampires'.

"Something close to that." I answer to her observation making my way to my bed.

"Has Snape done something to you? Talk to me Liz, please." She goes on, setting her book aside, suddenly aware and concerned.

"I-I-" The next thing I know my face is in my hands and tears are streaming from my eyes. "Snape…Snape is my…my stepfather." Silence follows apart from my sobs, until Melaina allows herself to laugh heartily for a second to then grow silent again, a horrified look on her face.

"That was a joke, right, you've always been so good at acting, Liz, Elizabeth, don't…you…you _mean_ that??"

I and Melaina have never really told a lot about our respective families, just enough to understand each other's familial problems when they occur, but this goes above anything so I go into a 'short' explanation.

"-my dad having to travel a lot for his job, my mom was left alone most of the time, she resided in Portugal at that moment, shortly after my dad joined her from a travel she announced she was pregnant of my big brother. My dad decided to stop travelling and gaining less money for a work in London instead, at the Ministry, they moved there too and my mom got my brother. They were like the sort of perfect family, until my brother, Samuel, grew up and dad realized the boy was clearly not his. Samuel has like dark brown hair like nobody in the family and his skin is darker than my parents' and his eyes…" I gasp at the moment and dig my face back into my hand crying loudly. "-Melaina…he has…he has _Snape_'s eyes!"

I'm about sure Melaina's about to gasp too, or look at me disbelievingly, mouth slightly opened, but nothing, no nothing, could have prepared me to her reaction. She suddenly starts laughing hard and loud, her usual laugh, she laughs so much she rolls off the bed and lands on the ground with a thud, laughing on. After about half a minute I get scared someone has hexed her, after one minute I'm about sure and has it not been for her sudden talking I think I would have used a counterspell on her.

"Haven't you…haven't you ever thought of playing comedy." She tells wiping her eyes.

"This ain't funny Mil! I just discovered Snape is part of my family and you _laugh_ at it." I ask shocked.

"Oh my…Merlin, Liz." She utters between fits of laughter. "Hagrid has beetle black eyes too, and…I-I could sum about three persons with the same eyes. Does this mean they're all like part of the same family? Who knows maybe Hagrid's your stepdad, and clearly, your mum resided in _Portugal_ at that time, doesn't that ring a bell, she must've gotten Samuel with some local inhabitant, a _Portuguese_ hunk, anything's better than Snape."

"Oh really, then tell me just why he got so pale when he realized I knew about it, why he told me not to speak word about this to anybody! Look, I've broken my promise to a teacher for you and you _laugh_ at me instead of being serious and trying to help me!"

At this she stumbles over onto the ground once more, luckily she hadn't climbed back on the bed after her previous fall, well luckily for _her_ as I'm still giving her a deadly look. I decide I'd rather just sulk in my bed alone instead of having to see her laughing at my misery.

"Aw come on, Liz, didn't you figure out that Snape maybe has other secrets? Like for example…I don't know, he could be a vampire, and he thought you'd figured it out. The guy is just so weird he must have at least more than one big secret." I huff at her statement. "And what did your dad say about Snape anyway?" At this I throw the letter backwards and hear it has landed straight into her face. Then I hear a ruffling of parchment before she reads aloud.

_Dear Liz,_

_Yes I've met Snape a couple of years ago while I was travelling around the globe for the Ministry, quite a scary person. I had few business with him, gave some plant he needed for some sort of potion I suppose and then I went off._

_I can read you're clearly your daddy's daughter, not that I'm proud of my daughter landing herself in detention so: You bad girl try to do your best at school. Now I've done my 'educating' part I feel better. _

_I'm sorry I couldn't write earlier, I was on another travel, but now I'm home hopefully until February, I hope to see you at the end of the year, but knowing your mother you'll be embarked in all sorts of family festivities, I wish you good luck and strength with that already. _(The sadness was almost palpable here.)

_Try not to get yourself into more trouble though, I'd hate to have to hear Snape telling me how naughty a girl you are, _

_Greets, _

_Daddy._

She folds the letter. "Well you see, there's nothing bad to it, Snape is not the secret father of your half-brother."

"But how could you know, my dad clearly tried to avoid saying it! He said he met him once, but he didn't say who Snape was!" I argue on.

"Sincerely, if Snape had wanted to hurt you really he should've said something along the lines of: 'how very like your mother you are'"

"Or he was a secret admirer of my mom, and he wanted to underline the fact that when his genes weren't implied the kid wasn't good or something." I get the impression this talk is getting very scientific…

"Snape is an evil piece of…" She curses enough to make a satisfied grin reach my mouth-muscles. "But he isn't intelligent enough to find such a line dripped with so much mystery behind, he's socially and verbally sick, I thought you knew that!" I don't speak for some time, trying to think clearly about the whole case, something very difficult at this very moment. "Look, I've got an idea. Your dad says in his letter that he's back in Scotland, sending an owl to his home should take less than two hours really, if you send a letter explicitly asking him whether or not Snape is your stepfather, I'm sure you could get an answer before tomorrow morning, it's only…" She checks the clock on her bedside table. "Four, you might even get answer before midnight."

"You're right." I answer suddenly my mind cleared up, "I'll do that, give me some parchment, and my pen and some ink, you can find a bottle in my trunk there." The girl let me order her around freely as I point at certain parts of our dorm, soon I have all I need to write a letter. This is bound to be the shortest letter ever.

_Dad,_

_I'm old enough to know the truth, is Snape Samuel's biological father?_

_Liz._

"Well it surely is clear!" Mel says making me jump a little as I hadn't realized she was reading over my shoulder. "Come on, send it now, where's your owl?" At the mention a little hoot is being heard, seemingly that useless thing more commonly called 'my owl' has followed me around, maybe he sensed my unhappiness, maybe he has feelings for me after all! Before I get too enthusiast about my possible love affair with an owl I tie my letter to its paw and ask it to send it straight to my dad.

Since we have nothing else to do but bother each other for the remaining time we decide to chill out, gossip about the girls, the teachers, the boys even, play around, gossip, plan pranks, gossip, laugh at each other's stupid and mostly not-attended-to-be jokes oh and did I mention gossip?

We are actually fooling around, Melaina went to the bathroom, and when she comes back I'm hidden behind the door eating some sort of crunchy chocolate bar, as planned she starts looking around the dorm to find me as I follow her around with the crunching noise, which freaks her out, something she won't admit but that I know for sure.

"You you, pervy chocolate gay!" she shrieks upon discovering me hiding behind her.

"I ain't gay…" I crunch back at her.

"Yes, all chocolate freaks are, look at…at er…at chococactus!" We both burst into laughter at the mention of this 'name' or rather nickname. Chococactus was the name we gave to my crush. Over then I was an 'innocent' fifth year and he a 'mature' and 'virile' seventh year. He once ate chocolate bread roll, and his name had been given to him because seemingly his parents were some botanic freaks and gave plant names to all of their kids, his was the name of a cactus… Sometimes Mel also likes referring to him as Mr. 'There's no water left.' Because that's the longest sentence we ever heard him utter in his deep and oh so sexy voice that I really miss nowadays.

"He wasn't GAY!! And and LUPIN is also a choco-freak!"

"Yea, he's clearly gay!"

"Is not!"

"Is."

"IS NOT!!! You don't even have arguments, and don't say the chocolate part is an argument! It doesn't count!"

"Alright, I have _loads_ of other arguments. Like, he looks into people's eye each and every time."

"What does that have to do with gayism?" I ask dumbly. (Yes we even invent our own terms.)

"Erm…I don't know, but admit he has that freaky stare."

"I knooow, he's so evil when he stares at you." I exclaim excitedly.

"Yea, it's like he looks through your soul…and clothes." We both burst out laughing madly exclaiming 'ew's here and there when we are able to. "No but really, and I'm sure he's a perv."

"What makes you say this?"

"You know what they say about silent nerdy guys…" She starts laughing as I make hissing noise to express my disapproval. "Anyway, he's a weirdo."

"That he is, even his name is weird…Lupin, it sound so Lip pun alike…"

"Lipun and what about Remus, backwards it gives almost summer."

"Oh my…and Lupin backwards gives…"

"NIPUL!!" She exclaims in a high-pitched tone to then needlessly add: "Like…like nipple." And then I know…we're both screwed.

Wednesday 15th September 1993

We have a short test of Defence Against the Dark Arts today, luckily it's only the very last class, so plenty of time to study it…start studying it. Yea, I haven't even opened my book yet since start of term, so what? I'm not in Slytherin for nothing, if I was a nerdy person I would've been sorted into Ravenclaw, or even Huffelpuff, since it's for the hum _'hard-working'_ or even in Gryffindor, since that's for the oh so courageous lions, right.

It's all unfair anyway, we Slytherins are in fact the lazy manipulating people, and school should also be adapted to us so we can use all of our cunning skills in lessons, instead all we need in lessons is courage, intelligence and studying. Well I have none of these!

Actually, Hogwarts isn't really fair. Slytherin is seen as the next generation of Death Eaters, full of bulky stupid guys and slutty artificial girls (mostly blondes). Well let me tell you, I'm neither for you-know-who, neither a slut (you may call me a bitch though, no problem with that) and not artificial (neither blonde). Whereas Gryffindor is seen as the best house ever, all courage and brain and beauty.

Even if I admit, yes yes we have our count of sluts in Slytherin, think of Rose, but I can sum up much more Ravenclaw, Gryffindor and Huffelpuff sluts altogether only in my year than all the sluts of my house from first till seventh year.

The point is that Hogwarts is full of favouritism and even though I hate the man I must admit that Snape has realized that. He's a brute, true, but he brings some balance in the entire favouritism of Hogwarts. Dumbledore favours Gryffindors, everything favours Gryffindor, Ravenclaw and Huffelpuff, let us at least have Snape then (and a bit of cheating)!

And there chimes the bell and I haven't studied my Defence against the dark arts yet, oh well I still have Herbology this afternoon, and the afternoon break itself…alright, I'm screwed and will once again rely on my classmates to copy on, I'm sure Melaina will know some of the answers.

Herbology was the horror, no really it was a living hell. The plant had somehow fixed _me_ for Merlin knows what reason. It ended up in loads of running and hiding and all the pretty Gryffins, Puffs and Ravens to laugh at me, yay, there goes my bit of reputation. Have no time to mourn about that though, we have a test remember, have to prepare myself, have to talk to Eliza and Rose so I can sit somewhere close to them, damn remembered now Rose doesn't take this class, alright will be easier with Eliza alone then and Melaina of course, but I don't have to ask permission with her.

It's with high hopes that I enter the room, Eliza admitted that she owed me for like three years ago when I told her the teacher would ask something about mermaids and by luck it came out to be true so she'll let me copy and Melaina's here too, so I should have at least something like an average, that is until Lupin smiles at us to then tell it's a practical test. First horrible news, second: I have to go first, so there's no way I can at least look how the others do it. Can it be worse? Yes, why, of course it can be as he leans to me to tell he'd like a word after class, great.

After all, the test went rather fine, what did I say about Slytherins being cunning eh, wait does that mean Lupin is pro-Slytherin after all in his tests? No time to think about that though as I have to see the man himself right now. Oh, I'm not the only one, seems like Milly's got to stay too.

"Ah yes, I would like to know why both of you skipped my class yesterday?" Wait we skipped…oh yeah that Snape thing, I remember now, I wonder when my owl will be back…why is he looking at me like that…oh right he asked something.

"I have been excused from classes by my head of house sir."

"Alright may I see the excuse." It's not a question as he extends his hand already.

"He hasn't really written it down that is he just told me I was excused." I explain fidgeting with my hands.

He frowns allowing his hand inside one of the pockets of his robe. "Be sure I'll ask Professor Snape about it." I nod slightly pursing my lips together in irritation, he has nothing against Slytherins but against _me_, why would it be elseway that he let Mel go with a lame excuse of 'I didn't feel well' and me with a super-excuse like 'I was excused by my _head of house_' as if I would lie about that! If I were to lie it would be lame too! How I hate that…nipul! Hah!

And to make it all worse I still haven't gotten any letter back from my dad. Oh fine, I won't be able to sleep at all with all that Lupin, Snape and dad stuff, how I hate school, can't I be left alone?

Thursday the 16th of September 1993.

Argh, first classes are torture!! Certainly when you didn't have the time to eat more than a big bite of toast, because you were late again, because your mind was too sleep deprived to register the 'slight tingling' of your three alarm-clocks. As I feel the collywobbles taking over once more I start turning the pages of my book wildly to cover up the noise. It's almost an automatism after seven years.

Right when professor Lupin is talking about some dangerous curse I get a sudden urge to eat chocolate. 'Some is sticking out of his pocket' My little mind soon informs me, for that I seem to be extremely bright, but when it comes to classes, little mind goes off to sleep seemingly and let me make a complete fool of myself. Useless thing!

"Maybe you know the answer?" Why do teachers sense the inattention? Do they have a sixth sense? Must be.

"Huh-" I can still feel some drool dripping from the corner of my mouth, luckily not from my chin, that would be really bad. "chocolate..." I murmur still being half in my reverie.

"Excuse me, I didn't catch that."

"Blue, say blue!" Melaina whispers furiously from next to me.

"Green..." I answer not really knowing why as I give a wide-eyed dumb look.

"Yes indeed, the killing curse turns out to be green." Alright scrap what I said before: my mind isn't that useless after all!

"And do you know how it pronounces." Lupin asks on, I wonder briefly: why push the matter, as long as you know it's green no need to know more.

"Eh, just like...'killing' and then 'curse'..." Really these teachers nowadays, they think we're retarded. Then again there are some pretty stupid people around here...it's not a reason to go so far to asking how to pronounce 'killing curse' really.

"Er- no," that little bit of hope soon leaves Lupin's eyes "But to know that it is green is already of high importance, wizards pronounce it 'Avada Kedavra', and-"

Alright: re-rescrap, I do have a useless mind as a matter of fact. Sure I wasn't paying attention either so my mind couldn't know, but when you're in a horribly bad mood, in need of food and daydreaming about feeling the softness of your bed and then you make a fool out of yourself, you have that big need to find someone to blame it all upon, in this case my own mind is the first things that pops up.

Luckily, for my own sanity, the bell rings at the point where my pen started to tremble in the need to scratch something, anything at all. It's in a hurry that I get out of the classroom, soon followed by Melaina, we both have our next classes outside, and it's raining, well at least I'll be inside a greenhouse…not that it's better for the health with all those freaky plants. For a moment I was scared that Lupin would ask me to have a word in private and would ask me about my absence yesterday, I wonder if he actually did ask Snape about it, and if he did, what Snape answered…

"Do I have to give Hagrid the greetings from you?" Mel asks trying to sheer up the sensibly tense atmosphere circling around me like mist.

"No, but do watch if he still wears his shitty pants." I grin back using our old insider joke. One day we noticed that Hagrid had really weird pants, kind of like as if he had taken old brown pants, unstitched them at the bottom and stitched some really weird coloured brown lap there in the middle of the two parts. The result of this is that at his bottom there's another colour, so it looks like he…well let himself go in his pants.

"Sure, I'll have a close look." She laughs back before we go separate ways. It's only by lunchtime that I get her answer: yes he still wears the same shitty pants from back since our third year.

"Do you think it's because he's not paid enough." I wonder out loud, or better I wonder out loud so that Melaina would hear my wondering, it's not like you wonder out loud by accident ever, or if you do, you're insane…alright I must wonder out loud without realizing once in a while.

"Maybe, who knows, he doesn't indeed have a lot of belongings and all, very modest life he leads." She frowns clearly thinking about it.

"Yea, is it even fair he's stuck in that hut while all other teachers have a nice and comfy suite inside the castle and are being served by house-elves." I know Hagrid has asked to be able to live on his own and that's the reason why he lives off the castle, but just to make Mil react I play the game.

"Hm, well then again he does have to work as a gamekeeper, so it's possibly practically easier to have a house outside." She retorts making me know I have to find something else.

"I'm sure he's not even paid, that story reeks illegality for miles away!" Melaine and I both stare evilly at Dumbledore at the same time as he looks back giving a polite nod and smile…we don't even respond, staring angrily.

"Yea…I'm sure he's using Haggers." I rumble lowly.

"Poor Hagrid, he always talks about Dumbledore so highly." Mil moans looking sweetly at Hagrid who just sat himself down at the staff table.

"He's so being manipulated!" I growl on completely ignoring Mil's statement.

We go on mumbling stuff about 'unfair', 'manipulation', 'promotion' or even 'enhance' when we hear a much too cheery voice from behind us.

"Who's talking about breast enhancement?!" Yes it practically screamed it…seeing the faces gawping at us I think it would be fair enough to scrap the 'practically' and replace it by 'absolutely'. Even the teachers are looking…Merlin! Even _Lupin_ is looking with that weird 'I'm looking through your clothes' stare dripped with amusement…so that would be a 'I'm looking through your clothes and enjoying the show' look??

"Jeffrey! A bit of withhold wouldn't hurt, we're eating !!"

Jeffrey Watters, our living hell, or better Melaina's living hell, I can easily get away with it. He's one year below us and just because we once, or better _Melaina_ once saved him from a bullying he thinks he's owned the title of 'best-friend' yes, not even just friend, but completely 'best-buddy-friend' as he calls himself once in a while (this being once every three minutes in our proximity). Did I mention he has no manners, ah seemingly I haven't mentioned _any_ of his so many antics. First off he has this weird accent, nobody knows where it is from, it sounds almost American, and yet he has nothing to do with America…which is just weird. Secondly he never heard of deodorant or soap for the matter. Thirdly he has that _booming_ voice, I wonder if he realizes that. And lastly, as I mentioned before, he has almost no manners, in the way that he never knows when not to scream things aloud and doesn't understand the term 'private'. Luckily enough, and I never thought these words would form even in my mind, we're summoned to class by the bell. I could've hugged Flitwick and seeing Melaina's teary eyes I think she was already thinking about shagging the little man as a way of thanking.

Telling myself I'm saved for at least the day I am happily prancing like a…er…newborn calf…or foal, only for the sound of it, amongst the other students, little did I know that just around the corner laid another horrible time for me to spend. I discover it soon enough though, too soon if you ask me. Oh no, I can't help but think the second I see it, hide me please anyone, after the Watters confrontation I can't take the Ian Streets one. Ian is kind of my ex boyfriend I never dated with.

"Oh isn't he the guy our dear Hope had H.A. for." Why Merlin why, what have I done today that was so wrong! Even the 'H.A.' for 'heartache' is enervating, and why is Watters even _following_ us…unless he's getting into stalking…in that case I better kill myself now, I'm sure Mil would agree to do this with me.

"Did you really?" Ian asked almost happy, his black eyes looked almost happy. I should be honest with this, but wait good relations start on honesty…should I lie then and give false hope?

"No?" Oh Merlin, did I just say no in the same way someone normal would've tried a very hopeful yes-please-ask-me-out-now? Seemingly, as a glint of hope shines in his eyes for a second before completely disappearing and be replaced by sadness as he catches up on the word I uttered itself instead of the way I said it.

"Oh…you didn't?" I can't understand how people can fall down to pity, it's so embarrassing, not only for the one asking for pity but also for the one having to give it. I almost want to spit at him with a 'I pity you'.

"Well I em, I _wondered_ of course how you were and all…haven't I owled you about all of this." I know Slytherins are known to be cold-hearted, but seemingly I'm failing in this as a Slytherin, I just can't make my mind up to be downright mean in front of the person itself.

"Ah yes, thanks for the nice card, it was really sweet." card…card…I never sent a card!!! I meant the almost-hate mail saying in an almost polite way I didn't want to hear about him anymore and no, I didn't feel like getting any news.

"Ah erm, you're like…welcome, I supposed it was good to send you one for erm…" He doesn't answer so I have to fill it in myself "Christmas?"

"My birthday actually." He smiles broadly, I don't see why he would, I just forgot why I ever sent him a card…card that I never sent, but that's in his vision.

"Yeaaa, that's the one, sorry, my mind is swirling, drifting, you know, heheheh…" I follow by a lot of nervous laughter, I'm so pathetic, I pity myself for my shitty social skills around guys, that is.

"We should probably talk about this in a 'tête-à-tête', what do you think of a nice walk around the lake by full moon this month?" He grins stupidly probably proud for 1) being able to insert a French word in a casual conversation and 2) being romantic about it. I suddenly remember I hated his grin over then too, it gives me some kind of animalistic instincts to wipe it away the hard way.

"Yes but full moon has already passed this month." I grit through my teeth and his grin falters at once.

"Well next month then?" He pushes on.

"Want to go wild??" Jeffrey asks suddenly wriggling his eyebrows, how can I not hate boys after that? Actually I don't know what to do, laughing _hard_ at this, or just scream and punch…or cry, cry seems an ok option.

"Thank you Jeffrey but I don't think so, see you around Ian." Ah fleeing, that's my favourite option out of all.

"W…wait!" Oh no, not the dramatic 'run after' move. "I'm sorry that was a bad idea, what about this weekend, just a little talk on the grounds, lets say, upcoming weekend." Why is he so badly clinging, why doesn't he get the darn point! Oh right, someone sent a card with my name on it, if I ever find out who!!...I'd also like to know just what was written on it…

"I have to prepare myself mentally for my first Flying lesson of the year." Finally flying lessons getting a use!

"Oh and what about next weekend then?" He asks on making me start subtly searching for my wand in my inner pockets, I _know_ I put it there somewhere.

"I don't know, we'll see, I can't really tell now haven't made up my planning yet." Get the point get the pooooiiiint!!!! I try to mentally tell him, due to the lack of my wand, where the heck have I put this ruddy wand, when a freakish laughter breaks my concentration.

"Planning?! As if _you_ ever planned something in your life!" A lot of self-control needed here.

"Well it does happen once in a while I, for example, planned the day I'd delightfully kick that nose of yours till it looks worst than Snape's." I retort coldly.

"I heard that Finry, detention." Arrghhh I must be dead by a nasty heart attack. I'm being spied upon and seemingly not only by Snape alone, he's walking next to Lupin, as if the couple would ever appear in nature next to each other if there wasn't some kind of plan behind the concept. I'm sure they were eavesdropping, oh no they eavesdropped on my pathetic talk with a pathetic boy who's pathetically clinging on a pathetic person like me…this is _a lot_ of pathetic at once, wonder if I can take it…might as well add some more of it now I got so far…after all, I think I'm having a certain affection for the word pathetic.

"But sir, I was talking about someone else! Otherwise I'd have said _professor_ Snape, why of course!" He's not falling for it. The arched eyebrow is clearly not a good sign.

"May I know who bears my name that you know outside the school staff." How I want to answer 'my half-brother' and break down in tears to then cling at his collar and slap/punch him repeatedly and dramatically, the kind of slutty punches that never hurt, until I completely break down, I wonder if Lupin would catch me and soothe me, oh temptation is big suddenly.

"My grandmother's grandmother sister's son…he has a cousin at his wife's side, well this cousin's little cousin's child married someone who has a brother. That's the one I meant. Far off family surely, but we're very close sentimentally!" Would anyone fall for this? Probably not…or maybe Watters, he seems to right now, his forehead screwed in concentration as he tries to focus, but the effort of finding the family tights should at least be worth something, deserve some pardon.

"Miss Finry, I have proved to be very patient with you and your…antics," he pronounces this in that slow and dangerous way of his which means I'm in trouble, "but I want to make myself clear that my patience has its limits. I believe you know what I mean." It's not a question, but seemingly stupidity is very contagious, today is going to be a scientific prove of this contagion.

"No." I reply looking innocently (see this as 'dumbly') "I'm being totally serious about me grandmother's grandmother…"

"Spare me the fairy tale!!" He cuts in his nostrils flaring in anger.

"But it's true!!" I'm screwed…until I get that sudden flash of a super-idea, yes, flashes happen to even the stupidest and most hopeless people amongst us, a message to all the bimbos walking around school, never lose hope! "Ask my father!"

Touché might I say. The second I say this he's paling sensibly, his beetle black eyes stand out so much more when he's paler than with his natural vampire complexion. He doesn't even add anything and walks on his robes billowing behind him. Lupin stays a little longer, looking at me quizzically, but I merely look back with a twinge of contempt, after all, he was eavesdropping too.

As if on cue my brown lover-owl taps on a window nearby and I rush to open it up and letting it in. As soon as I do so it flies inside the corridor and makes a circle around my head before actually landing on one of the arms of a nearby high candle holder, how I hate when he circles above me like that! It's irritating, gives cramps in the neck and what a loss of time and energy too! But he's got a letter tied at its paw and my entire attention is centred on this instead. I almost jump to the owl and snatch the parchment and leg included, but since I'm still a civilized person I keep that cold self-control Slytherins are so good for.

_Liz,_

_I had no idea what to answer to since I didn't know whether to take your letter as a joke or if you were honestly being serious about your assumption._

_Anyway if you meant it, you're being completely wrong, I know your mother did some mistakes…but do consider the fact that I still had you after Samuel._

_No, your brother's dad was some latino, and I know Snape has the main features for a latino if you look at it from a few miles away, but it was a __real__ latino, so no chance it was Snape._

_Have you thought about a job needing creativity and imagination? You certainly are flourishing in these sectors,_

_Greetings, _

_Dad._

He must've had fun reading my note. I wonder why Snape was acting so weirdly and downright _scared_ he must have some secret my dad knows about but doesn't want to tell me. But it has to be very dark if my dad doesn't want to tell me…

"Aren't you going to give it a treat?" Melaina's voice asks dragging me out of my thoughts to face my owl looking at me with his face turned almost completely to the side.

"Yea, I should." I respond distractedly burying both hands in my pockets on the quest to an-old-forgotten-piece-of-food-my-owl-would-eat but finding none. "Ehm." I open my mouth to let no sound come through as I watch Melaine with a furrowed forehead.

"Here." She answers getting the point at once and handing me some bread. I thank her to give the owl the piece of bread before allowing him to retreat in the owlery. "How can your owl like you if you don't even have any treat ready for him?"

"You know Mel, it's not about the gifts you give, it's about the affection and love." I answer getting sentimental suddenly.

"I'm sorry but ehm, what do we do about that date?" I sigh inwardly, I'd silently hoped that ignoring Ian (and Jeffrey for the matter) would've made him disappear, it didn't, one more life lesson learnt.

Friday the 17th of September 1993.

'I dumped him', it's the first thought that comes to my mind as I wake up this morning, I dumped Ian, and not just dumped but completely dumped him. I was downright splendidly honest, it felt good, I've never been one to hide feelings after all. The fact that I was at that very moment quite irritated didn't help either for the poor bloke, but sincerely being so thick shouldn't be allowed, there should be some doctors to help against that, just like when you can't speak perfectly, you go see an orthopaedist, well it should be the same about thickness!

I wonder if he's hurt…he probably is, I wasn't really watching out for euphemisms either, saying things like 'I never even liked you', 'I've been put up to this' or, and I guess this one was pretty rough 'had it been about me and only me I'd never even have saved you a glance!'

A bit of explanation on the case: I had no choice. It could be resumed to this and don't dare saying 'people have always choice'. It all started with Rose, the very mention of her name makes me twitch badly. Ian is in fact her boyfriend's best friend, well ex-boyfriend now, I think…although I'm not sure anymore, sometimes they date, sometimes not, it's very confusing. And like in all those stories there is first heartbreak between the best friend and his girlfriend and the girlfriend needs to be replaced, so who was better than me to replace it? Right now I could think of a thousand girls, but over then it seemed like Rose only saw me to be up for the job. It all finished of in the most horrible date I've ever had, the only one too. Had it only been about the date though it'd have been fine, but even after he stalked me, asked me out on and on. Finally I was blessed by a supernatural, divine power since Ian's father kicked him out so he had to move to his mothers who lived in another country, he skipped school for a year or something. I wonder why he came back though!

"Morniiiiing" This isn't Mel's voice, I grunt when realization hits me: it's Rose's voice. "Shouldn't you get yourself ready you know after all…Ian's back." Ooooh really? I guess she assumes this is good news.

"Yes he's back and seemingly _someone_'s sent cards to him with _my_ name on them." Come to think of it, only the girls of my dorm knew about Ian, I've never really displayed myself with Ian in public.

"Oh he got them!" She exclaims brightly, her voice going a pitch higher. I wonder if she can swim, if she couldn't I could let her drown in the bathroom and let it come off as an accident…then again you don't really need any swimming skills to survive in a sink and drowning in them is even less common, only almost happened to me once.

"Y…you did it!!" I grunt lowly, but she takes it as a happy exclamation as it seems, alright I know I grunt a lot in the morning but there is a big difference between happy and mad, even in the morning, even with me!

"Well sometimes a relationship needs a little push forward." Well she's never pushed the relation, she downright _shoved_ it. I'm almost scared she's going to ask me to thank her, sounds totally like her.

"Stop pushing it then! I'm not interested in Ian and I'll never be! You better stop the pushing, no, even more, you'd better tell him what you did!" Or better not, I'm scared the news would finish him off, and as much as he's bothered me, I don't think it's worth a one way ticket to Azkaban for.

"Oh sssorry!" She retorts in that sluttish way of hers before finally getting up off my bed…now I'll have to disinfect where her arse sat!

"I told her not to bother you with it, but you know how she is, she looked at me like 'Satan' had been burnt onto my forehead and did it anyway." Melaina tells me as she comes out of the bathroom with her towel clumsily around her head.

"She didn't deserve any pity from you anyway you know." I grin back at her suggesting my bad morning moods.

"Yea I know, you'd better get ready, double potions in less than ten minutes." She retorts distractedly so I have to concentrate on her words before realizing their gravity.

"Why doesn't anyone wake me!!" It's hard to wake up early when you get to sleep at two in the morning!

"I did, three times, but once I was out of sight you went back snoring." Totally me.

After much discussing and a little of arguing we're on our way to potions, of course we're already ten minutes late, luckily our Common Room is already down the dungeons. Our subject of discussion: Whether to go to potions or not. I wasn't really in the mood to, but Melaina's freaked out by Snape so she doesn't dare skive off his lessons.

"-there are innumerable properties given to- Finry and Parcher, I see you finally decided to show up and grace us with your presence, you're twenty minutes late, stay after class, now don't waste more time, sit!" I was about to protest, because hey, I'm not his lapdog! But Mel was dragging me already to the nearest sits.

Result of this lesson: Snape hates me even more than ever, yes more was possible I'd never have guessed until I saw his evil stare upon me scowling at every move I did, secondly we got another stack of homework and finally we, in I and Melaina, got detention Saturday, oh joy, we should've played truant. Oh and did I mention I have prefect duties in the weekend?

By the end of the day we all know exactly what we're going to do this weekend, see planning at Hogwarts isn't even needed, the teachers plan it all for you.

Saturday the 18th of September 1993.

This day must be the most horrible one of the term so far, and we're only 18 days away. I woke up at seven, yes seven!! and on a weekend too! If I were to tell it to anyone nobody would believe me, seven and no it wasn't because there was a good show on TV, even then I don't manage the wake. It was, grab your seat, to finish off homework, well to do homework, because it's kind of hard to finish off something you haven't even started doing yet. This went on hours and hours and I don't think I've ever welcomed lunch break so happily but at least I and Melaina were done with all our essays so far!

Then of course we had our detention with Snape, the greasy git, yes he's officially earned the title, who gives detention for being late! He knows nothing of troubled sleep! We had to clean off cauldrons. Then I and Melaina tagged around a little, did some dumb things like knocking on doors and then running off, we're so mature indeed. And at the end I had of course my prefect duties.

I caught three second years out of bed and gave them a good detention. I know cruel, but since today I know why Ravenclaws are cruel, I understand what it is to study all day and get as only satisfaction to pick on smaller kids and show your equals you're better, only I probably won't get the last one.

Sunday the 19th of September 1993.

Ah that's what I call a good sleep in. I wake up for lunch, by the time I'm acceptable we're already half-way lunch break. I know it's depressing to realize that half of your day has passed by as you were snoring, which I think isn't a useful thing, but at least I feel happy waking up and for once I'm not grumpy in the morn…well almost morning.

As I walk to the dorm with Melaina I can't help but sigh happily, it's great to see people working on their load of homework while we both have done it all.

"What are you going to do but bore yourself all day?" Melaina asks as we're going down the stairs leading to the dungeons.

"Erm…boring myself all day…, you?" I answer grinning up at what's supposed to be her head, only it's hard to see a thing at all, the dungeons are only lighted by torches and it gives pretty freaky sights.

"I don't know…lets talk rubbish about everyone while you bore yourself all day and I read stupid magazines that I'll steal in a couple of minutes from our dear absent dorm mates."

"That sounds pretty enticing to me! I go for it, Salazar!" I add to the stone wall that soon transforms into an entrance to our Common Room. The first thing we get to see, next to the fire place, is Eliza and Eva working on something, or better Eliza trying to explain something to Eva for what I suppose must be the sixth time. As we pass them by I can clearly hear it's about Flitwick's homework, I wonder where she could have a problem with it, we only had to find feathers to practice the disarming charm on, he seemingly didn't feel like having wands fly around everywhere. Finally we take the stairs leading down to reach our dormitory far below all the others.

The second we're inside I flop down on my bed and reach for my muggle game commonly called amongst muggles: gameboy. I know what you think: muggle technologies don't work at Hogwarts! But hey, I haven't only looked up charms and potions for homework in the last seven years of my live that would've been pretty meaningless. I perform the charm on it and soon it starts up.

"Found one!" Mel cries out from under Eva's bed. "Witches weekly, damn no porn."

"I don't think they'd ever dare buying a porn magazine." I retort as she gets up with some difficulty.

"You're right. We'll have to consider ourselves happy with gross questions about sex." She says casually as she plops down on her own bed.

"Gross but naïve." I add.

"Yea that's what I meant." She answers distractedly as she turns the pages rapidly looking for the questions and answers' section. "I found one here in section Ask Magda here it goes: 'Dear Magda, I lost my virginity to two guys at a party were I'd drunk too much firewisky, only my parents don't know anything about it and now I think I'm pregnant, what am I supposed to do? Greetings, Fish." Even before she finishes off reading aloud we're already laughing like mad. I wonder if the magazine doesn't invent the questions themselves, any person in his right mind wouldn't call themselves fish anyway! Now that's the problem, anyone in his right mind wouldn't get drunk and spend the night with two guys and end up probably pregnant, can't you just hear the drama!

"Oh oh this one from Ask Andrew: Dear Andrew, my dad has a new girlfriend ten years my senior and I think I'm in love with her. Each time I make love to my own girlfriend I think of her instead, what should I do, should I confront someone with it? Greets, a desperate lover."

"Aaaaw, 'desperate lover' that sounds so romantic really." Before I even get the time to say something as I try to make little Mario jump up a pipe Melaine's already eagerly reading another one.

"Dear Andrew, not so long ago I had my first time with a girl, but soon after my organ started stinging, now I can see small little rashes all over the tip, should I go see a mediwitch? I'd also like to add that my parents don't know about it, greets, a scared guy." I don't think we've ever laughed so much, well at least not about someone else's agony. Soon after Melaina closes the magazine and throws it to Eva's bed, it lands somewhere next to it. "Not a very interesting edition I must say, can I put some music on?" I nod a yes and soon the music's echoing against the stony walls.

After a couple of seconds the song 'I will survive' is ringing to our ears.

"Why do I have to think of Snape when I hear that song?" Melaina asks suddenly.

"Probably because you're bored and having a secret passion for him, sort of a love/hate relationship." I answer professionally mimicking the move of looking over my glasses in an analyzing way only detail is that I don't wear any.

"I see him dance on this in front of the class, Merlin! just imagine, maybe right now he's in his room dancing on this, you know first he starts with little hesitant moves and then suddenly he turns around and does a big arm move and starts disco dancing on it!"

"Melaina!" I groan, "Now I'm having all these bad mental images of Snape dancing, swishing with his hair like they do in the shampoo ads and doing all the arm moves…in disco clothing, white with glittering blue stripes!" Mel laughs like mad, even though I'm sure she doesn't know what a shampoo ad is, but I'm sure she gets the point…well the image that is.

The fun comes to an end soon after though, when Rose barges in. We have to stop the music because seemingly she's in a bad mood, something about her boyfriend not giving her enough time for herself….right…I'll never understand their relationship, one time it's all great (read: when he invites her somewhere and pays/gives her a gift) and the other she 'needs time for her own'.

The next hour is a living hell: after twenty minutes of Rose's grumbling I decide to put on the music anyway, that's when she explodes telling my head off for being so noisy, NOISY, _me_, she's only been grumbling about for a good twenty minutes and I'm the one being noisy! Me being me of course, I can't let it go like Melaina does, no, I have to retaliate, say she's bloody selfish and that we were here first so if she isn't happy she should better just leave. That's when she gets even worse, yelling at me. I'm like…one month older than her! But in terms of years I'm one year older and that's the respect she's showing me. I'm deeply disappointed in the new generations, ah in my time…

Luckily I manage to flee the dorm since I have prefect duty. Seems like all the things I normally hate to do come in handy these last few days, first flying lessons, now prefect duties, I might start liking all of these!

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[a/n I'm really sorry this took so long to update, but I had loads of exams at school and so forth and had no free time in which I could write anymore for a long period. I'm glad to tell you that I'm back though, so updates should come faster now.

Reviews are really appreciated, I always try to reply to all my reviews, so please feel free to leave me one, even criticism is fine as long as it might help me improve. Thanks for reading!

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	4. Week Four

**Disclaimer: **All places, characters, plots and names you recognize aren't mine but property of J.. The OC's, the plot and other invented things are mine.

**Special Thanks** to those who reviewed this chapter: **Poopie woopie (you know whoXD)** , **Hades'Queen , Whit Black, midnightsprite, slytherin-principessa  
**

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**Week Four**

Monday the 20th of September 1993.

Something was constantly shaking me, the whole world was falling apart in a shake. What had I done to deserve this I don't know, I had merely been practising as a tightrope walker really until this shaking started and I fell from the small tread high above the ground. The ground itself was nearing and I could see it approaching very fast. I was one second away from crashing on it when…

"WAKE UP sleepyhead!!" Rises Melaina's voice through the dark. Wait _dark_? Right that moment something is lifted up from my eyes and I see Mel's dark eyes glitter in amusement, my cushion in her hand.

"Meuh?" I ask, my eyes hurting as if they were facing the light for the very first time, as if I was a newborn ready to discover the world…that would make Melaina my mom...

"Finally!! It's only almost a quarter past ten really."

"Exactly! So I'd like to know why you're waking me so soon!"

"You have Herbology in fifteen minutes missy."

"But…fifteen minutes is loads of time!" It's crazy how when you're half asleep you lose all track and definition of time and at the end the 'just five more minutes' get you late for class.

One hour and a half later, one class behind, and yet I feel like a zombie. Even with my interest in food I can't seem to eat properly. After merely three bites a nice big red stain decorates my collar, and we're only Monday, so I'll have to make it the entire week with the stained shirt.

"Tssk, no cursing!" The last thing I need right at that moment while I curse for my bad luck has to arrive at that precise time of course bringing its overly merry voice from the other side of the Slytherin table.

"Jeffrey, it's not the right time to…" A second stain blooms on my shirt, this time on my chest and as I silently curse on trying helplessly to get the red away with my napkin, Jeffrey Watters' overly fat arse comes to a rest on the same bench I'm sitting on, making it seem like the entire world is shaking…again.

"I've heard you took Flying Lessons, I have something that might interest you, want to know?" The boy seems oblivious to the fact that all I want right now is for him to leave me alone in my agony, because I like agonizing alone, it's one of my deepest passions. Where's Melaina anyways!! Never there when you need her, she's probably staying with Hagrid to find his 'magical creature', leaving me all alone, what about our tradition of nagging at each other on Monday mornings. See in this: me nagging on for hours and barking questions concerning her mental state and grumbling at any answer she gives, I can't believe she's skipping on our nagging session for Hagger's evil creature, oh wait I remember she had Divination this morning and Creatures only this afternoon while I'll be hurting my pretty arse with a broom. As soon as I think of the Flying lesson I get that familiar tug down my stomach making me almost shake in nervousness as if I've drunken a litre of coffee.

"No, look Jeffrey, all I want right now is to be alone a little, alright?" I try softly, using the same tone I use on kids about four when they don't want to finish their plate, because I'm anti-finish-your-plate-concept and completely understand how kids hate it. The last thing I wish to see happening is for Jeffrey to start an act in front of everyone so all the nice Gryffindors, Ravenclaws and Hufflepuffs would have the confirmation that Slytherins are discriminating horrible people, but to my astonishment he just ignores me, and takes my sentence for an excited 'Oh please, do tell me!'

"I've heard from a friend of a friend his friend that Ian's taking flying lessons too!"

"Oh crap." I utter as a reflex. I'm sure this friend's friend friend yadda yadda, is somehow related to Rose, must be since she's the only one in the castle apart from Jeffrey and Ian himself to assume I like the boy…alright not Ian anymore since the outburst, although...

"Don't worry, I know that as a girl you'd like to have time to put some make up and all to seduce him but he won't mind, he rather likes natural and wild girls." He tells knowingly taking my bloodshot glaring-daggers eyes and open mouth with food sticking out of it expression as one of utter worry about make up and my own looks in general.

"Crap! I need make up, right now!" Oh no, I just haven't yelled this out at the top of my lungs jumping up from the bench (and almost crashing on the floor in the meantime). Well judging from the silence in the Hall…I have…I'm in so much trouble. Well at least I could always get into literature with 'How to change your reputation in ten steps for dummies'.

I'm utterly depressed. My day started out wrong and is degrading as the hours pass by, I want my bed…and my mummy too! After my little outburst in the Hall (may I mention that almost everyone was present but Melaina, the teachers have eyed me strangely since then, 'luckily' I got dragged out of the Great Hall by no less than Rose herself who took my exclamation too literally I'm afraid) Rose dragged me to the dorm. There I went through half an hour of torture in which she poked my eye with a black pencil, rubbed half of the skin off of my eyelids and almost tore off my lips with utterly dried up lipstick. I managed to scrub off a little of it, but I swear I'll never be the same person again, my face is doomed to be marked forever. And all of this because of Ian…well indirectly, but remember I always need a victim in these very frustrating times and he seems like the right person for this since I'm going to spent the next one and a half hour in his oh so agreeable company.

The minute, no _second_ I step towards the small crowd forming on the grounds, a known feeling in my stomach that has _nothing_ to do with love but makes me want to run to the toilets immediately, and I know what kind of class this is going to be. Most students participating are 1) boys 2) playing Quidditch or ex-Quidditch players and 3) rough and sportive. Everything I'll probably never be…unless under very rare and unfortunate circumstances, I learned to be careful sharing a room with nutters like Nerissa, Melaine (yes yes, she can be dangerous too, never to underestimate) and more likely Rose.

We have to start by forming groups, a dreadful thing, I'm mostly the last person to be chosen, sort of 'it's my turn now and I choose…ow er, you're the only one remaining, well I guess I have no other choice then…unless the other group wants you…' There he casts a hopeful glance at the opposite group but finally has to admit me in. I know that too well already from muggle school, it's what I hate about sports in general, the need of teams, I'm a loner, I'm not someone for teamwork! It's in those times also that I wish I could be a Gryffindor, because at least they're all so loyal towards each other so they choose for the person, its house and not really for its capacities. I keep wondering why I'm chosen as a last resort if I really have a talent for quidditch. 'Because all Madame Hooch says is _rubbish_?' some voice sounding very much like Melaina's echoes through my head. I miss Melaina right now, actually I'd even miss Ian if he wasn't there at this time…staring at me, I knew Jeffrey was lying about the make up! Ah Melaina, she must be on the grounds here somewhere, having Creature lesson. The idea lifts my mood slightly, at least I'll have something to do while waiting in the sky on a broom for the lesson to be over: namely searching for her! I could even spy on her and then try to blackmail with all the info! I could freak her out and oh all the possibilities shining up at me. A grin spreads on my face until I hear Hooch ordering us all to 'mount our brooms', had I been with Mel we could've had a laugh at that.

Most people present I don't even recognize. I do recognize a few of them though, like Oliver Wood, the Gryffindor Quidditch Captain hunk, also Ian of course. A certain Ruth I-can't-remember-her-last-name Hufflepuff girl is also present. You know the typically nice, charitable and helpful Hufflepuff all Hufflepuffs are, well think again, she's the living proof that even mean Hufflepuffs exist! I can't recognize the other people, but there are quite a lot of Slytherins present. First you have Marcus Flint, he's the one who has to redo his last year, he's also our captain and has a major dentition-problem…he doesn't seem to realize though as he grins a lot the kind of toothy-grin, maybe he even things he's 'charming' like that. Come to think of it, he does have a lot of girlfriends, I realize with a shock, while _I_'ve never really had dates, why is the world so _unfair_! And why am I getting jealous of Marcus Flint and his dentition suddenly?

Terrence Higgs is another one of my year. I actually like him, well used to have a crush on him too, which goes against all of my principles: I do not fall for guys of my year. Why you could ask…well because I think they're immature and stupid. Because I like older guys and because dating a guy in your own year is dangerous if it screws up, you have to be bothered with his company until you finish off school. But Terry…he's different (he has blue eyes and black hair) he's more mature…by the first look of it. Two days of observation proved he was in fact a sissy. He even stopped playing Quidditch in our House Team because 'he needed time for preparing his NEWT's', to which I answered a very intelligent 'huh?'. Because it goes beyond me, take Melaina and I, we only finish off half of our essays properly, I think I only worked seriously on a homework once or twice and it was somewhere in the very beginning of my First Year. I study twenty minutes before the test in question, and I daydream through most of my classes, or talk to Melaina throughout them. NEWT's won't make me suddenly seriously make my homework, will they? And I won't suddenly hush Mel in a class because of NEWT's, that would be alien. Hell just look at me right now, I've just been daydreaming, talking to my own for twenty minutes…and nobody's noticed so far.

"Hope, watch out!" I let out a yelp and glue my breasts against my broom, my nose painfully bumping against the wood, but anything's better than being hit by a Bludger, wouldn't want Ian to artificially bring me back, just the idea makes me shiver.

But hey, wow, that was like a lot of action…now I'm again lonely for another twenty minutes I guess. Twenty minutes spending thinking about all the great things I could be doing weren't it for Flying lessons, I could for example be listening to good old muggle music with my smuggled radio…_all that she wants is another baby, she's gone tomorrow boy_, I hum testily, then realizing with the wind blowing, being high in the sky, nobody hears me anyway and start singing the song a little louder…until I notice Ian's actually next to me, staring intently, a knowing grin spread on his lips and the first thought getting in my head is that he must be taking the song a bit too literally, I need to distance myself at once!

Another twenty minutes passed! Dear Merlin, how can Quidditch be so boring! Alright there seems to be some activity down there, but being Seeker is so very boring! Being so high up I can see the castle from a clear view…I wonder if I could see inside, maybe I could go and pester people who are studying! While I look from window to window a shape suddenly attracts my attention. I squint my eyes to try and see who it is, to distinguish any feature that would clearly identify the person. Suddenly a cloud travels in front of the sun, its light previously shining right towards the window where the mystery person is standing disappearing and I see, I recognize clearly his thin frame, his evil 'I-know-it-freaks-you-out-the-way-I-look' stare, grinning, yes grinning as if seeing me on a broom is funny…and even though it probably _is_, that's not a good enough reason…then again I'm looking at him intently, my mouth aghast, my eyes squint, well yes pretty much the dumbest look one could be giving, and I have to be the one wearing it!

Right at that moment, while we're still looking at each other something hits my head, something small but hard, almost like someone shot a walnut. In a reflex, because after all I've been brought up with a big brother and we have a walnut-tree down our small garden, I look at the stadium saying aggressively 'Don't shot your balls at me!' I don't know why, but it just came out that way…the expression of Ian…poor Ian, yes I'll start pitying the boy for knowing me, as he was actually standing, well more like _hovering_ close in front of me.

"B-but I haven't!" He retorts lamely trying to defend his innocent cause.

"Oh you haven't? What about that!" I almost scream at him, attracting attention to me as I try to retrieve the walnut-ball flailing my arms around forgetting I'm ten feet up in the sky and a walnut would be landed on the ground below, had it been a walnut. Of course it isn't, and it attacks once more, this time burying its own down my décolleté.

"YOU PERV!" I gasp trying to reach my hand far enough to hit him across the cheek but instead of this I hit his nose with the tips of my fingers, losing my balance, leaning forward, and making a spectacular forward body spin, luckily managing to grasp the hand that wasn't hitting around my broomstick, the other chasing the Snitch (yes at that stadium I figured out the mysterious walnut case) down my shirt. Finally I grasp it and with much effort manage to extract it from my clothing.

That's when I hit the realization: I've caught the snitch, for the first time in my life! I've caught the snitch…and find myself hanging from a broomstick by only one hand, up about ten feet from the ground.

I shall die from shame tonight. I'll crawl in my bed and die, downright never wake up. My cheeks are still burning, it's horrible. I was about ten feet up screaming…and I scream like a pig, I know that too now. Everyone looking up at me, oh and yes, I was still wearing a skirt, with robes of purple (the colour of my team) above my normal uniform! And Madam Hooch tried to calm me down as I was swaying my legs wildly, making a freaky move with my free arm, as if I was hoping I'd suddenly learn the skill to fly. Couldn't be worse? That's when you're getting it wrong, as I saw _him_. Lupin. Probably saw me from his classroom and decided it would be more fun to see me embarrass myself more closely.

I think I'll try to see just how high ten feet is and try to figure out if he could've gotten a glimpse of my flashy green underwear, nothing to do with my house colour mind you. But I'd better not though, I know it will finish off in me being even more depressed, coming to the realization that he probably saw them…hard not to notice when I'm desperately spreading my legs as I try to fly, I know.

He didn't seem to laugh though, or grin anymore, he looked scared, and then relieved yet concerned, but I know I made a fool out of myself!

Tuesday the 21st of September 1993.

A good thing about crawling in shame and resignation to your bed in the early hours of the evening and boring yourself waiting in the closed curtained room of your bed until you fall asleep because you have nothing better to do as crawling out and taking the risk of being sighted is completely out of question, is that you wake up early without anyone needing to splash you with icy water or even shake you.

It's barely half past eight when I become conscious of the sudden singing of birds and clattering of water, the first one surprising me more than the latter since our rooms are situated somewhere under the lake. Only a couple of seconds later I hear the bustling of people hurrying to get ready for classes, a nasty grin gracing my face suddenly as I remind myself that I don't have an early morning class today. As I murmur to myself in a sing-song voice about 'no such thing as a free hour ahead while others have to work' I hear Melaina's calling my name in a suspicious voice, making me go quiet at once.

"Liz? Are you awake…I know I heard you." I rumble back something unintelligible, trying to come off as sleeping or as skulking over the previous' day events. "Hm, Liz waking up so soon, must've been a sleepless night or I don't want to believe it…I might even, oh I don't know, offer her a drink at the Three Broomsticks next Hogsmeade weekend if she was up at…wow, half past eight, good Merlin, she'd be breaking records! She doesn't even wake that soon when she has an early morning class-"

"Alright alright, I'm awake! I woke up a minute ago!" I finally admit…after all a drink offer is not something to be refused! A merely three seconds later and I get up to open my curtain slightly and pop my head through the new whole.

"You look horrible my dear." The mirror on my nightstand tells me the second it perceives my reflection on its surface. I grumble a low thank you giving it an evil sideways look telling I will soon not care about seven years of misfortune if it goes on like this.

"Well as much as I don't fight for mirror-rights, he's still true on this one, you look like you've been struggling with the drapery all night…and this not meant in the greater, pervish way." She adds a hint of a smile twitching at the corner of her lips but it is soon replaced by a serious look once more, "Come on, tell me what's on your mind."

I give a long moan before retreating my head inside my peaceful sanctuary. "Don't even dare saying you've not heard about it!"

"Oh I've heard about something…a story about a Slytherin girl who almost slid off her broom while having a Flying lesson in an attempt to catch the snitch, which she did in an utmost spectacular way. I've even heard whispers of Marcus Flint trying to find the girl to ask her whether she'd like to be part of the team." I open my mouth about to tell her to seek for the other rumour about a Slytherin girl making a complete fool out of herself, but before I can even open my mouth she goes on, seemingly in the meantime gathering her material for her next History of Magic lesson. "But knowing you, Madam, I directly thought that it must've been something completely foolish of you that, by some utter lucky fortune, or just the fact that you were so high up nobody could really see the real situation going on, came out another way, am I right, or am I right?"

By the time she asks her question I'm up and striding to the bathroom to grab my toothbrush. "You'w rawth." I finally answer moving the toothbrush over my teeth, finally spitting and rinsing my mouth before allowing myself to talk again. "But Lupin saw."

"Lupin? How could _he_ have seen, out of all people?" She asks clearly wondering.

"I…I was looking at the castle out of curiosity," I pause at this, trying to make my statement clear because I don't want her to pair me up with yet another teacher, "when I noticed him, and he noticed me, and then the Snitch flew up against my head." At this moment she cracks with laughter. "-it _isn't_ funny, I'm bearing a _bruise_!" I say indignantly trying to point at the side of my head, but knowing all too well there's no bruise anywhere, even thought the impact _did_ hurt pretty much.

"Aww, maybe you should've been brought to Pomfrey so she could mend it." She retorts testing the ground for a second, probably scared to have made me mad, but laughing along with me when I burst out laughing soon after giving her a deadly glare.

"Oh and my knickers, Mel, _my knickers_!!" I moan suddenly thinking about it all once more, pressing both my hands against my face as if I can't face the reality. "I'm sure he saw them! He actually came down, left his class to come and make sure I was fine as I'd slipped off of my broom trying to slap Ian across the face, because I thought he was the one playing with a walnut, trying to bother me." At that second her expression is something between an 'oh-how-cute' and an amused one, which all in all gives a rather funny result. We stare at each other both grinning ridiculously when another head pops out of the bed curtains and I shriek both in surprise and shock at the sight of the monster, a witch with wild hair of snakes and blood-shot eyes and-

"Could you keep down the commotion? For once I've got a free hour!" Rosheen barks at us angrily, leaving me in shock for a moment, taken aback by her ugliness at such an early hour, she surely doesn't lie when she says she needs her beauty sleep.

"Well your bad if you took too many classes, don't put the blame on the others!" I reply, getting back to my senses. This makes a low grumble emanate from Rose's throat before she goes back to sleeping.

"Wow, I'm proud of you, had it been last year you would have cowered and whimpered every time I'd speak a little too loud, scared out of your wits she would wake up."

"I think she's worked me up too much," I grin malevolently and then bring my voice to a whisper, not scared to bother her, but frightened she would hear the words that are coming, "with the whole Ian thing, I don't think I'll ever forgive her."

"And you're completely right not doing so, ever thought of revenge?" Mel grins back lifting her seemingly very heavy schoolbag strap to her shoulder. I know at once she means by this she'd be up to help me with a possible revenge. I shrug though, I'm not sure whether she should help me with it, she's already gotten in trouble enough with the girls of our dorm because of me and maybe also because of her daring, always working in secrecy though, the other girls found out about some of our pranks and as I'm more accepted than Mel I've directly been scrapped from the list of accused people. "Well I'm going down for breakfast, you back to sleep, knowing you." She says retreating to the door, her grin broader.

"Don't underestimate my willing power to stay up! You would be surprised." I answer back at her. As the door closes I'm sure I heard a small 'Well surprise me then' making me smirk mischievously because that's exactly what I'm up to.

By the time I've washed up and had breakfast, first classes are already halfway gone and I decide to take an early trip outside. I actually enjoy having a walk on the Hogwarts ground when I don't have to drag a ton of books behind me but just a few quills, parchment and empty and filled inkpots, I never go anywhere without at least that bit. After visiting a few great spots I decide to go back to the place of yesterdays 'accident', once there I can't help myself from looking up at the grandiose building which brings me an idea. Mel's 'well surprise me then' sounds through my head and I remember a couple of weeks ago when I shot a rock at her window, but throwing a rock again would be so cliché, I have to surprise her. That's when I get that stupid idea and take a bit of parchment out of my bag together with a quill and inkwell, the note is written in only a few seconds, the little sticky-figure motioning to wave took me a little more time to draw and charm. The message looks like this though:

BOO!!! YEA, I JUST SURPRISED YOU, I'M SURE YOU PEED YOUR PANTS!

P.S.: How can you like such a class, drool's actually dripping from the windows, drool from all the sleeping heads, I bet three sickles you're the only awake…only but Eliza, but she's a nerd. Or wait, I'm sure you two are the only students present, you're the only nutcase who would take this as an advanced class, and yes, you may take this as a compliment, after all it's a beautiful morning and I feel in a good mood!

After I feet I ranted enough I start folding the tick parchment to a little airplane and, restraining myself from playing with it like a six-year-old I use a levitating charm to slowly make it fly higher and higher and squeeze through a little broken window. I wait a couple of second, wearing a big smile, ready to wave at Melaina when I actually see her, sitting at her usual seat, taking notes and looking attentively at what I suppose must be Binns as if he were a naked hot man in a muggle magazine…one window next to the one I squeezed the note through…and she sits at the back of the class… Eyes wide, I slowly turn them to the left and seeing him I could just curse myself into oblivion. Not just anybody else caught my note, no out of all people at Hogwarts, it had to be, no not Ian, WORSE, _Lupin_.

"Oh no why." I mutter thinking quickly of what I could do to disappear out of the way as soon as possible. Then I get that brilliant idea and run as fast as I can to the castle wall, almost smashing into it head first, to then press my body against it hoping he wouldn't try to look too thoroughly through the grounds.

Whether he did it or not, I could never tell, I waited for another ten minutes before slowly, keeping close to the castle wall, retreating to the big oak front doors of the building just in time as the bell echoes off the walls telling us it's time for a Charms class.

It's halfway to the classroom, as I was about to climb another flight of stairs leading to the second floor that Melaina bustles out of the First Floor corridor looking thoughtfully through her freshly written notes, not noticing me. A mischievous grin sprawls onto my face as I quietly try to hide in the crowd and slow down my pace to get right behind her. I wait for a few seconds before hitting my foot square against her arse, making her jump about three feet high before staring around her wide eyes until she sees me doubled over in laughter.

"You- you, dirty sissy!" Melaina exclaims, making people turn their head at us, but she barely realises she's attracting their attention upon her.

"Ah you know what Melly pelly," I can't help but smile even though I manage to keep my tone even and serious, sighing dramatically as I walk towards her and put an arm around her shoulder, which I have to go on tiptoes for to achieve, "only to hear the great names you found out for me I'd keep kicking your arse or scaring you to death…well almost-death since you're still alive, or downright irritate you by 'borrowing' your stuff or-"

"-enough, you made you point, shut it, parrot!" She smiles back as if she just used the cutest of pet-names for a best-friend. We walk on like this, I almost tripping over my own feet as I try to keep up with her pace, an arm still over her tall shoulders.

"You know, I had like a super-good reason to punish you!" I start pouting slightly.

"Oh really?" She answers absent-mindedly.

"Yea, I made a fool out of myself, because you didn't catch the cool paper, which took me about half an hour to make," If I'm going to lie about it, let the lie be big at least, "and that I had sent through a creak in the Defence Against the Dark Arts classroom, and now because of you Lupin will have read it and know my deepest of secret!" She gives me a fake gasp at this.

"You mean, the one about your secret child with Albus."

"No luckily not this one!"

"Then, then, you mean the one about your intimate love-ritual with Hagrid?"

"No!" I choke out, laughing, mental images of Hagrid dancing around a clearing in the forest filling my mind…slowly his clothes disappearing and being replaced by prehistoric ones.

"Oh no, not the one about your hidden kinky experiences with Kimberley (the most shallow guy living on the face of this planet, who's as dumb as a fly flying against a wall), Filch and Kettleburn?"

"Ugh, we said we'd stop about Kettleburn." Kettleburn was our ex-Care of Magical Creatures teacher, and partly the reason why I gave up on the subject the second I could, not very much because of the fact that he was a nightmare to most people, because he was rather nice to me, but just because he was downright odd. I've always known him as a tall wizard. He was bald at the top of his head, but had thick white and grey fluffy hair at the sides of his head, making it look as if he'd torn out chunks of his hair in anger, which would sadly not surprise me at all. He was a nutter, mental nervous person, and the key-word here is _nervous_. It looked like he was having sugar-highs all time, but not in the 'Happy tree friends' funny way. He couldn't even breathe normally because of it, inhaling went fine, but then it was like he _swallowed_ the air before breathing out heavily. There wasn't one lesson without a spat shooting from his lips, mostly it went everywhere and stayed partly at the corner of his lips. I can tell you that out of experience: I stood on the first row for a week, after that my notes were unreadable. Everything that went against his lesson, he tried to ignore. One day as he was walking, he stepped with his left foot into an open schoolbag, instead of stopping his walk and releasing his foot, he walked on as if nothing was the matter, dragging the schoolbag with him for a good five minutes until the schoolbag irritated him so much that he shook it off his leg (not interrupting his speech).

"I had to avenge for last time when you brought these horrible bad mental images about Kettleburn into my head…they've traumatized me you know."

"Which ones?" I reply honestly not remembering which she was talking about since we'd given each other so many of them over the past years. Before Melaina can give me an answer, Flitwick assign us some practical exercises which are bound to keep us busy until halfway the class but unfortunately, by that time, we've already forgotten about our previous conversation and decide instead to engage ourselves into a battle of lightning laser sabres making scary noises which annoys our neighbours highly but are not loud enough to be caught by tiny professor Flitwick.

"-and as you know, I want this essay to be as elaborate as possible, about a good ten inches would be a basic-"

'Ouch' I curse as suddenly Mel's wand stabs me in my thumb rather hard in that moment of inattention, making me drop my own, sparks erupting from its tip. Groaning inwardly as I see I won't manage to make it roll back with my foot, I slowly let myself sink into my seat and finally crawl closer to it, extending my arm, hand and fingers as much as I can in a hope to reach it but instead pushing it further until it reaches the alley between two rows of seats, now clearly in view of the teacher. I, not realizing this latter detail crawl further towards the object revealing myself.

"M-Miss Finry?? What are you doing crawling onto the floor like this?" My head jerks up so hurriedly that it hits the desk near me where I had been sitting only seconds before. I slump further, finally laying onto the floor completely, wincing in pain.

"She has stomach cramps sir!" Melaina 'saves' me from the rather uneasy situation.

"Stomach cramps! Again!! Oh dear, I will have a chat with professor Dumbledore later, probably there's something wrong with the house-elves down the kitchen, could you bring Miss Finry to the infirmary at once?" I suppose Melaina nods at this before I hear the feet of her wooden chair scrape against the stone floor and the tinkling of quills against inkwells as she's probably putting away both our material. I stand upright, retrieving my wand in the process as subtly as I can and still feigning stomach cramps as I hurry to get out of the classroom.

Break is welcomed with open arms, certainly by me, I was starving…starving out of shame, yea that seems like a good way of describing it. I feel like my stomach is full of lead though when I remark Flitwick double checking his bread before taking it in, we shouldn't be playing with him like that! He's too nice, so on one side it's a bit his fault, and yet, I can't help but feel bad about it all. I also notice Remus smiling nicely at him and talking in that gentle way of his to his small college, the sight of him for some odd reason making me feel more relaxed. Just a second later though his eyes dart from Flitwick towards the Slytherin table and up until they meet mine and I have look down at my plate, feeling a sense of warmth spread all over me and concentrating on my normally pale cheeks. After a few seconds I wonder whether he's still gazing at me, though I feel a little prickling I can't really be sure about it. Little time is given for me though to elaborate on the question as I feel a slight tap on my right shoulder making me look up wide eyed, mouth aghast to see Marcus Flint's bad dentition grinning at me.

"Marcus?" I ask almost on a disbelieving tone I'm sure he caught as his grin grows.

"Hello, would you mind to have a word?" My eyes, already wide, I'm sure almost pop out of my head, if it is about dating I'll have to tell I've got no interest, oh no. I know I'm a hypocrite, but believe it or not it's got nothing to do with the dentition (well not _only_) but Marcus Flint is just the sort of guy I'd never go out with. I manage through all my weird thoughts to nod at him and he plops down on the seat next to mine, making Melaina look up from the Daily Prophet where she is reading the astronomical previsions for hers and my sign, and frown slightly, questioningly. "Well, I've seen you play Monday, and really what you did is a move we need for our team, so after much thinking, I thought that maybe we could just for once, accept someone on the team that has so far shown no talent in Quidditch whatsoever. I suppose you've heard about Malfoy's little accident." With that he shots the blond boy a dark look across the table of our house before resuming his speech, "So we need another seeker, if you accept, we will meet each other next week's Tuesday after classes, just to discuss the upcoming Quidditch season. Meet us all in our common room then."

Without leaving me the time to retort, he is off to his friends leaving me still staring open-mouthed at him, watching his retreating back in pure amazement as if it was the most wonderful thing on earth I'd ever gotten to see in my life.

"Stop looking like that, you look like Longbottom, I can't stand the guy!" I close my mouth at once and look at Melaina as she talks on, again looking down at the journal, though her eyes aren't moving so she's most certainly not reading. "Will you accept?" She asks.

"Well…should I?" I ask gloomily picking at my food with my fork, all appetite lost once more, I think I'm going to start believing these house-elves put something abnormal in our food!

"I don't know." Comes the very helpful phrase out of Melaina's mouth before being replaced by some pumpkin juice. I feel bad for a second having to make a choice in my life, I hate making choices like that! Luckily some divertissement makes its way in the Great Hall under the form of a little group of Hufflepuff boys, one of them being Kimberley Brewer, his long blond hair swaying from left to right because of his mannequin-alike demarche. My old choco-cactus crush used to be part of the group before he left Hogwarts last year. Now there remains Kimberley, a redhead called Marcel who I suspect to be part of Neville's famille, and Lovegood's too. He has that way of watching like…like a cow who's just felt a carrot go up its arse, yea that's not the best way to describe but it's the _only _way. There's also a certain James they all call Jim or Jimmy whose hair is downright…funny. His parents keep a diaper-shop in Diagon Alley, yea indeed a shop only selling all kinds of diapers and in the holidays you can see Jimmy disassemble cardboard boxes in front of the shop. The three of them are just the funniest group to watch. A sissy, a weird carrot-eating cow (because I do believe you get red hair from eating carrots) and a tough diaper seller.

Soon after their entrance the bell rings and I stand up facing Potions and Defence with a very bad feeling growing inside myself. And to crown everything, I have prefect duties tonight.

Wednesday the 22nd of September 1993.

Why is Transfiguration so boring? And if it is, just suppose it just _is_, then why has it been put in the morning, as a _double_ class??

"As homework, I want you to look up the proprieties that stones have in common with goblins and how it is about to influence their transformation into one another." Oh _please_ even I who hasn't even listened intently for more than one minutes knows the answer, it's something we saw back in first year.

"Transformation will be easier because goblins look like stones so they have something in common, how am I supposed to write a three foot long essay about that?"

"Loads of filling I suppose." Melaina groans back as she's copying some notes from the blackboard in the last ten seconds of the class.

"I can read through your notes right? For inspiration, eh?" I say subtly not wanting to admit that I downright haven't given the class a listen. She shrugs in response and I know she won't stop me from doing it.

Just slightly revived with the lunch I've just had, I walk like a living dead towards the greenhouses in the amiable company of my dear lovely dormmates. And now I still haven't caught on my lack of sleep from yesterday.

"I can't wait for my birthday, I wonder if my mom will get me the dress I've tried to hint I liked." Eve exclaims happily, and had she been a little smaller she'd have been skipping, but a tall person skipping looks just weird, well to me that is.

"Why try to hint, I'd just tell her I do." I reply, yawning at the end of my statement.

"Because if you just tell her it isn't a surprise anymore!" She answers in a matter-of-fact tone to which I just shrug. This is going to be one long Herbology lesson, I think to myself grimly, until I hear her fake-sweet voice dripping with amusement.

"And you have no sense of subtlety anyways." Rose bites at me, making me wish for one thing and it is to claw her lips off of her face…and tongue out of her mouth, well just anything that has a responsibility in letting her talk actually.

"W-What do you mean!" I sputter in rage, scandalized by her sudden break-in into a conversation she had nothing to do in (not that I had something to do in the initial one…but that reminder will be pushed to the back of my mind for now)

"Just kidding." She answers in a nagging voice pushing me side ways 'playfully' (I fly about five feet away because of it, and almost land on my backside), "you know you're the 'mistress of subtlety'" She says mimicking the brackets with her fore and middle fingers.

"Right," I mutter darkly, "as long as you know and realize it to the fullest I'll let you worship me secretively."

"What's it you're saying?"

"Nothing suitable for your dear ears honey." I reply vulgarly on purpose hoping to shock her.

And it indeed was a very long Herbology lesson.

As soon as the bell echoes I sit up bolt right as if the seat had been burning my bottom and collect my stuff in a hurry, glad to leave the dangerous place of Greenhouse number five, just the name sounds like an old creepy haunted laboratory! I'm so early off that I can still see the students next to Hagrid's hut kneeling at some boxes, most certainly inspecting some flobberworms, and knowing Melaina has to be one of them I pursuit my way down the slope towards the half-giant's habitation. When the girl notices me she seems rather glad to have a reason to escape sooner than expected from the evil flobberworms. With the excuse that she has to get to her next lesson she rushes off towards me and we walk back to the castle side by side heading to the Defence Against the Dark Arts classroom to meet Lupin.

"If only I had known I wouldn't have shown up…ugh…flobberworms."

"I thought Haggers was into bigger stuff than that?" I grin back at her exasperated comment.

"Yea, but since the accident with Malfoy he's been fetching some great worms for us to work with, because yea, worms don't bite or scratch, but sincerely, I think I'll skive off the next one." At that moment we take a turn and arrive close to the classroom door before entering it. Lupin's already present in front of the class. He wipes the blackboard with a flick of his wand before walking around his desk and leaning against it, smiling at the arriving pupils…one of which has to be me of course. I smile back hesitantly, I'm not good with smiles, they always make me look as if I pity the one I'm offering the smile to, therefore I once more look down my feet, tripping is the last thing I'd want to happen at that precise moment, so I'd much rather watch were I'm going. I almost heave a sigh when I reach my comfy wooden seat.

"You may sit down." Lupin says clearly as the last person entering has closed the door and is making his way to his own desk, I'm already sitting though and wonder briefly if he minds my misbehaviour, I look up again to see him staring straight at me, his amber eyes alight. I hurry to give him an apologetic look (remember, not smile, I'm not good at smiles).

As Lupin starts his explanation, addressed to his loving class (see in this Rebecca, his best pupil, yes _the_ Rebecca 'spiders-are-more-scared-than-thou' Scott) I find the sound is off, I only see his lips move and sometimes realize the class is laughing at one of his witty remarks.

Lupin is one of those dangerous teachers, because he could easily be popular, and popularity of teachers amongst pupils is never good. No, I'm not a party-pooper, I like having a good laugh once in a while, even when the teacher's the one bringing up the source of fun, but you see, if a teacher is popular amongst most of his students, he can get away with a lot of things, even including picking on one of them. It's sad to say but students, humans in general, are easily blinded. See look at me, I've manage to blind most of the people I know to think I'm a sweet angel, only my very close friends (read: Melaina) know me the way I really am. The other way around, people can be blinded by a teacher to see that one of their fellow students are actually suffering of being bullied by the teacher in question. A bit far-fetched? Maybe, but I lost another ten minutes without being too bored!

As a conclusion, yes Lupin is scary. Just thinking about his scary chocolate addiction brings up a scene of some man hidden underneath a long cape out of which sticks his pale long-fingered hand holding chocolate. 'Do you want a chocolate bar my child?' Sounds in my head the second I think of this and I shudder inwardly at the thought of some scary high-pitched voice pronouncing the phrase. The second Lupin's voice saying the very same words resounds in my head though, it doesn't feel overly perverted anymore just…funny and something else, something I rather not write in the same sentence in which 'Lupin' is written. Alright I take another sentence to say the scary word: _sexy_, there you got it, yes.

Why is everyone making scratching noises…oh wait they're taking notes, maybe, without wanting to be a follower, I should take some too…you know some unique ones. Yea, I'm going to do just that. Slowly and carefully I dip my quill into my inkwell, the care unneeded because I'm going to spill anyway, I know I'm about to. Looking up to the blackboard I find myself captivated into a sea of amber and blue, I try to look away, but I can't, I rather would prefer his eyes to leave mine, that would mean I have a point, that I'm stronger, that I have nothing to hide from anyone. How a single thing can change so much eh!

Finally, I can't tell who broke the contact first, I just know that suddenly I find myself scribbling from the blackboard (I know, very 'unique' note-taking) and he is back to his explanation in front of the class.

"What's up with you?" Melaina asks me at dinner.

"What?" I sincerely have no idea what _could_ be wrong, I was just looking up at the head's table to see that Lupin was about to take a bite from treacle tart, totally normal!

"You've been acting weirdly since…since Defence, and STOP staring at Nipul." I sight at the use of name and yet can't repress a laugh, which, put together, give a weird sounding 'I'm going to wretch' snort, I'm so horribly sexy. Oh no…sexy…the word makes me think back of when I thought of Lupin and his chocolate bar.

"Oh no…oh no I'm DOOMED, so so doomed, I said…" No wait, I _thought_ of Lupin and sexy in the same sentence. Waah, and _again_. Maybe, maybe I think Lupin's sexy.

"Why are you doomed? What did you say?" Melaina asks wildly, seemingly scared.

"I…I mean, you said ehm, you said nipul right, so I'm doomed because you've really decided to re-baptize him nipul, am I right?" Is she going to fall for it? She could take it as my usual badly acted jokes…oh please let it be this.

Melaina watches me wearily for a second while I grin hoping on. After some time she grins back and I sigh out of relief inwardly. "Yes of course, but don't you dare changing subjects! Sooo, what's wrong with you."

"Nothing's wrong. No really, I swear, I'm just…evasive, that's all…must be a toxic plant in Herbology." She swallows the excuse wholly, I couldn't be more thankful…but now I start wondering for myself…what's wrong with me? It's just that there's something different about Lupin. He's not like he always is, it's hard to explain. You see a normal teacher doesn't look people in the _eye_ like he does. I've never had real eye-contact for a long time like I did today with any of my teachers so far…and admit…amber eyes are just weird! So amber and blue, totally bound to attract the eye!

It's no use, I'm doomed (it seems like I say that a lot these days…maybe I really am doomed...). The thing is that I can't sleep, it's the horror! I've been wrestling with my drapery for two hours now, I've been trying to get to sleep, I've tried everything, EVERYTHING, I counted till sixty nine, then I got distracted by my stupid thoughts, then I tried to think of happy stuff, and fell asleep and dreamt that my now dead grandpa was still alive and owned a theme park, and I wanted to go on one of the attractions, but tripped over my own feet and I woke up with a jerk.

"Melaina……are you sleeping?" I whisper through the snores but hearing nothing but a slight creaking which has to be one of the other girls who hasn't caught sleep so far…but I'm not in a mood to deal with anyone but Mel. "Mel?" I try again, now a little more hesitation in my voice. I'm about to give up, just going to try once more and then I'll stop. I open my mouth to whisper out her name when all of a sudden the curtains of my bed at my right open up with a jerk 'silencio' is spoken out followed by a soundless cry 'finite'.

"Are you mad! You almost gave me a heart-attack!!"

"O my, you should've _seen_ your face! You're really so easy to scare!"

"It could've been Sirius Black!" I whisper back furiously defending myself. We finally both calm down and settle to really sleep but this time again is no different than the first one and I finish by giving up all hopes on sleeping and retrieving energy.

"Liz?" I hear Melaina's whisper through the darkness.

"Mm?" I reply trying to act as if I'm half-asleep, half-conscious.

"Can you sleep? because I can't." I stop mimicking a peaceful sleeper to let a grin appear on my face.

"You know what this means don't you?" I whisper slightly, my amusement resounding through in my voice as automatically a painful smile stretches over my lips.

"That the evil monster of doom will come to eat me?"

"No," I respond drawing my curtains back slightly and poking my head out, feeling the coldness of the night stinging the skin of my face. Through the darkness I can see Melaina doing the same. "It means Pyjama Party." I wish I could've cried it out, but it could be too risky. I slip out of my bed and on my naked feet skip to Melaina's bed, the one closest to the door and also the one to my own bed's right side. Once there I hop onto her bed and I can hear her drawing closed her own thick green curtains and whisper a silencing spell onto them.

"Alright, I think it's time for the 'who would you rather shag'-game." Funnily the name we gave to our invention isn't exactly descriptive of the game itself, it's not all about who you'd prefer shagging, but moreso about in which situation you'd rather be finding yourself, having to choose between mostly two but sometimes more rather uneasy situations.

"I couldn't agree more to that my dear Melaina, I give you the honour to start the first round." I grin madly, sincerely it's been such a long time since we've played the game, and playing it through floopowder at night is so not the same because you can hardly laugh. Or maybe that just adds up to the cool feeling the game has.

"Alright here goes: would you prefer walking on Flitwick all naked under the shower just washing, or on Snape naked in his office wanking."

"Ewww, both are evil, but ehm…I'd rather the first one, at least I have a bigger chance of getting away unnoticed. Now my turn: would you rather see Hagrid doing stuff with Fang his dog or ehm, Dumbledore and McGonagall shagging suggestively."

"Ehm…both seem the same to me, but alright, Hagrid and Fang sounds funny, I suppose. Would you rather walk on Lupin sleeping naked somewhere and very horny, so supposedly you'll have to shag him, or ehm, watching Kimberley shag his girlfriend."

"Lupin." I answer at once, really for no reason at all, only that it seems more fun. By the very dangerously smug look on her face I know I should've answered differently.

"I knew you liked Lupin." She grins, but I understand she says it playfully, duh, because she'd be really insane meaning the sentence.

"What? No! It's just that Sydney really disgusts me a lot more than Lupin. Wouldn't want to hear his high-pitched screaming!"

"Yea right, go on lie to me even more!"

"It's no lie, Lupin is evil but admit he's cute and rather sexy for a teacher!" Oh no, now I not only _thought_ of Lupin and sexy in the same sentence, I said it aloud too, what the heck is wrong with me, I must've been fed a potion, or maybe, yea that's it, one of the plants is having a sort of allergic effect on me!

"Hmpf, ok, your turn anyways."

Thursday the 23rd of September 1993.

After a couple of more rounds we finally decided to call it a night, it was about four in the morning. I managed to catch something like two hours of sleep before I woke up for some yet to discover reason at about six in the morning, I know, such an ungodly hour. Me being the naughty girl I am, I just have to wake up Melaina, because friends have to _share_ time together, no? Even if that time is at six in the morning. But Melaina won't mind being woken up so early by me, I would mind being woken up by her, it would probably be the last thing she'd do in her life, but as the expression says: never wake a sleeping dragon. Yes Hogwarts was made to my image, hum.

Only about half an hour later I and Melaina (yes I had to drag her and she's sending me zombie-like killer-looks, but I don't mind) are making our way towards the Great Hall. The normally crowded corridors are empty, dead, so it looks like it's somewhere past curfew. This makes me wonder if there's a morning curfew. It gives me ideas, just in case I'd want to wander around somewhere around four in the morning not finding sleep, would it work if I said to Filch that I woke up to study early? Probably not.

I actually like waking up early, certainly on weekends, only trouble is that it rarely happens (read: never unless there's an emergency like fire or cookies). It gives me a feeling like I'm a goddess of this world, like I'm alone, well alright, alone with Melaina, but you get the main idea: no being bumped by little munchkins of first-years, not being mocked by pimpled Gryffindors, not running the risk of having to say hello to a fellow prefect, the Ravenclaw ones are the most horrible ones to me, they can get into a complicated theory you just can't get away from, although the Hufflepuffs are evil too.

One Hufflepuff girl once asked me if it didn't hurt to be friendless. I answered with the question whether it didn't hurt to be brainless. At this she gawked at me and I could walk away easily. The thing that bothers me is that she never got angry. That's what I hate about the so sweet and lovely Hufflepuffs: they never get angry, they never want revenge, they never hate. That's just plain evil. I'm one to think that anger is healthy! And I really mean it, it's my motto actually. I wouldn't want to discuss the theory with a Ravenclaw, BUT, I believe in it through and through.

Well actually I do like discussing, only not with Ravenclaws, because I can't win, what's the great thing about arguing if you can't win, I don't see the point of it.

Finally we reach the Slytherin table in the Great Hall, which is empty, really _completely_ empty. I've never seen this before. Oh wait, error, there are some midget first years, they're so small I didn't see them at once. I and Melaina sit across each other, still not uttering a word.

"Boo." I say grinning. As a response she looks at me, her green-brown eyes half-closed and for a second her expression makes me anticipate her future action of falling in her plate and snoring. I sigh deeply. "You're no fun in the morning, how do you expect to ever be the queen of the world if you can't enjoy the morning wakes." She rolls her eyes at me. "Have you forgotten your tongue in your bed?"

"No." She retorts almost angrily not looking at me. Melaina's like that, she doesn't look people in the eye. I'm actually the only person she does look straight towards, because I'm her best friend. As she hates to be angry at me, she feels like she's in fault for being angry, she feels guilty before even showing the anger and doesn't dare looking me in the eye.

"Melly, let's be cheery today, I want a cheery day and I-" I start my speech but soon get cut off mid-sentence.

"Wow, what the heck, I never knew they served peanuts!" Mel exclaims reaching further on the table and dragging the recipient of peanuts against the hard wood towards her straightening bit by bit in the process. "Did you?" She asks grabbing a fist-full of the good.

I shake my head copying her actions and starting to munch on the nuts happily.

"Did you know that peanuts are good for the brain?" I smile munching some more when I feel one pumping against my nose and bouncing back to land on the table.

"Poke!" I hear Mel's voice, amusement in it.

"No fun!" I answer rubbing my noise in 'pain'. "I want to do that too!" I exclaim after a couple of seconds taking a peanut between my thumb and forefinger and starting to move my hand back and forth, tongue sticking out of my mouth in concentration as I aim for her noise. "POKE!" I giggle but stop soon as I hear a pained groan. Melaina is pressing her fist on her eye.

"That was my eeeeeyyyeeeuuugh!"

"Oh my god, I'm so sorry Mel, I forgot my aim was so bad! I'm so sorry!"

"Ugh, you should've known! Even _I_ aimed for your mouth to get your nose!"

"Right." I sigh, not only by defeat at our argument (which is very weird for me) but also because the holy threesome (Rosa, Eliza and Eva) have just entered the room and are walking over to us. "Let's go for a walk, would Hagrid be up?"

For the next hour we walk and walk around the ground trying to find Hagrid, in the meanwhile joking about walking in on a not so attractive scene implying Hagrid himself and just very few clothes. I know I know, no need to even _think_ it, we _both_ know we're pervs and proud to be. I actually am thinking about making a badge of that, we could make a group from it and it would become our motto. But a horrible tinkling sound invades my thoughts, clearing them from my precious ideas about future possibilities for groups and gatherings.

"We have Defence first." Melaina groans dragging her feet towards the castle.

I sometimes have the feeling that school is just so easy for me. I don't know why, maybe because the teachers are explaining step by step what we're supposed to do and henceforth practically doing all work for us.

Yes, Lupin assigned us our very first homework (from his point of view) and is about to explain what he desires to see (insert some kinky thoughts here) _written on our papers_, duh! What did you go imagining there, tss. That's one of the only cases where I actually take the best notes from the whole class, because it means less trouble later on, and I'm always in for less work after school hours! Hey I'm not pro-extra hours! Let go pro extra unpaid hours. As I try to stay tuned to every word he says I realize the subjects is slightly deriving from our task to downright his Defence class in general and other assignments he's planning to give us throughout the year (and as I like surprises, coughcough, I decide to selectively play deaf for now) I just realize just how soft his voice is, no not his voice, his voice is actually raspy, not soft at all, but the tone he uses. Oh what I would give to hear my name whispered in this tone…and voice, the harsh voice with the soft tone, sexyness. But wait…I have the impression that my wish is coming true, so there is a god above! Mmm, so soft….Misssss Fiiinryyy, hihihi, why formalities sir, you can just call me Liz, or Love, yea, My love.

Suddenly though my name isn't called out in that soft dreamy way anymore, it's like someone has tuned the volume button to the maximum at once and I hear his still soft mannered tone only much _much_ louder.

"Miss Finry?" I focus again on what is happening, everyone's watching me for some unknown reason, or wait it must be my slight paranoia working again, no Liz, nobody is watching you, calm down now. "Miss Finry?!"

"Wha…Yes?" I ask suddenly aware of two amber and blue flecked eyes watching me.

"Ah, well now we have you back I think I can go on with the lesson, may I?" He smiles at me, that un-sexy smile, yet veeeery cute. He's so sweet to ask whether I want to hear his lesson or not!

"Why of course." I answer smiling back gently, completely not understanding why everybody laughs at that, I don't get the joke, what's funny about these three words? I ask just that in a whisper to Melaina who scrunches her nose whispering back her explanation.

"I had no time to shake you awake from your daydreaming, seeing as I was daydreaming myself." Bleh, why does it always have to be me? Not that I would wish for him to have chosen Melaina to ground, but why me? Oliver Wood doesn't seem attentive either, but nobody cares about _that_ eh! No it has to be a Slytherin, and since Eliza is _always_ attentive, it was a draw between me and Melaina, and out of the two it had to be me!

For a moment I smile to myself, because hey, I eluded the whole mystery but it soon fell with the same question again: but why me?

Some small voice inside my head started whispering in a very high-pitched voice: Maybe he's in looooooooove, but I shoved it off soon after. I'm almost shocked when a second later the bell rings and brings me back to earth in a rather brutal way. Somehow a soft-toned voice shocks me even more brutally right after: "Miss Finry, may I have a word with you?" Had this been one of my little fantasies I would be replying 'Oh, are we into rhetorical questions.' But this is reality, and I'm Hope Elizabeth Finry, mistress of ugly natural blush and un-cute stammering.

"Y-yes, of course." I then turn to Melaina to summon her to leave and wait outside with some little signs of my head and hand, which, miraculously, she does understand I assume by the nod of her head. I then turn back to Lupin who's already busy wiping the blackboard clean with a small wave of his wand before walking to his old and tatty suitcase and starting to neatly stuff his books in it. I wonder what makes him that poor. To be honest he's a more than average as a teacher, then why oh why would he be poor. That's the moment I realize there is more to him than meets the eye. Professor R. has a secret, and I'm about to find out what it is.

"-I hope you understand that." Fuck, why do I even nod? I DO NOT understand, then why do I nod and try to hide the dumb look of misunderstanding. "Very well then, I'm sure professor Sprout is waiting for you, would you prefer me to write a pass for your tardiness?" Hm, can't he just write a pass for Sprout and McGonagall for my absence? That would be much appreciated. I nod though, once more, yes when I told you about miss Shy and Red Light being me eh?

He opens his suitcase and takes out a piece of parchment, pen and inkwell and starts writing an excuse in his thin neat handwriting. A light feeling drops all the way down towards my stomach and I'm about to certify the fact that I'm getting a sudden diarrhoea attack if it wasn't for the light-headed feeling adding to it. Him writing a letter for me, it just brings ideas that are everything but appropriate involving love-letters.

"Here you go." He smiles as he hands over the paper after having signed it rather wildly and yet smoothly.

"And about our discussion…" I say, hoping he might get too much into his teaching job and actually repeat it all once more.

"An E would be great for this essay, it would prove you still have the ability to manage at Defence Against the Dark Arts without paying attention, but please try to focus next time."

"Focus." I repeat in a whisper, yes, focus is what I must do…but I don't think he meant by this focussing on the colour of his right eye, it's funny how I don't manage to watch someone in both eyes but have to choose between one of them…I think I should leave, I don't really like his questioning look.

Friday the 24th of September.

Is having the wish to run away with Lupin's signature a bad sign of maybe-fangirlism? I'm starting to ask myself the fatal question: am I getting fangirlish? I feel like I am, maybe I should talk to Melaina about it, if I'm a real fangirl she should find out soon enough though. After all, from what I can recall I barely managed to shut up about Choco-freaked crush from last years, Charles was his name, and now I'm still prone on having sudden fantasies about being his girlfriend/fiancée/wife/mother of his kids. I'm such a dreamer I swear. But I got my new motto, scrap the 'anger is healthy' one and replace it all by: 'Focus'. On itself it's not really a great motto, I admit with all modesty that I'm much more creative, then again I don't think Lupin knew his word(s) were to be used on a daily motto-basis, he might've put more thought behind it if he had known…or simply freak out. The latter being the most natural and close handed one actually…I'm screwed.

Potions this morning, double one, and I still can't 'focus' on anything else but the rage bubbling inside because Sprout took Lupin's note, it was mine! I've been silent for most of the time to Melaina afterwards, because I'm utterly confused about everything associating with Lupin. I mean we're only the twentieth something of September, I've never met the man before, and yet I wouldn't mind being snogged shitless by him, a ten years or more older man with a dirty secret (I just know it and I'm about to find out what it is!)

"Today we're about to see how-". Let me guess Snape, another potion…the contrary would surprise me, since the class's called potions it's kind of…logic.

"Miss Carter, you want to be careful with this ingredient, only two days ago your younger sister spilt a rather big amount of it. Not only has it a strongly aphrodisiac effect on human organism but it is also very expensive." I smirk, for once agreeing with Snape's comment for 100. You see, as I said before, when you think of a Hufflepuff most people (well I do) get the image of a nice, sweet and innocent girl, always at the ready to morally support the people around her or him. Well Ruth Carter is the living proof of the wrongness of this image. She's one of the meanest things I've ever met in my entire life to be honest. She must be really hard working to have gotten herself landed into Hufflepuff. It's only a little while later that Snape's words and moreso the meaning they behold sink down to my mind. _Strongly aphrodisiac_. And it has happened two days ago, on Wednesday that is. Wednesday, the day I daydreamt about Lupin… Since that very day my feelings have gone crazy to the point where I admitted I thought Lupin to be very sexy indeed.

"Wouldn't you better concentrate on the colour of your potion rather than drift off to some outer world, Finry?" Snape snarls from next to my cauldron, cold beetle black eyes staring hard down on me. I gawp down the way of my cauldron too, our heads getting closer but none of us realizes. It's blue, and in the book it's written that it's meant to be blue, seems like Snape's having a little eye problem.

"I think the colour of my potion is rather nice and fits with the potions book's description." I frown replying, not meaning to cause havoc by my response but rather trying to understand my mistake. Snape luckily has still some fairness in him seemingly as he doesn't scowl at me but simply lifts some up in a dipper making the liquid twirl slightly in the dim dungeonesque light.

"This colour," Snape angles the spoon slightly so the contents of it fall with some splashes into the rest of the potion resting in the bottom of the cauldron, "is not as described in the book: teal blue, Finry, I'd rather qualify it of aquamarine." He looks up at me once the spoon is emptied, raising an eyebrow in question as my frown is still apparent.

"I thought it looked more like Robin egg blue sir." I mutter fixing the potion before looking up at him, a look of pure sarcasm on his face.

"Eden, what colour would you call this?" Snape summons Nerissa, she's been drawing and painting for almost ten years now, knowing the colours by heart, she's boasted enough about it for everyone to have caught on that bit of information. Happy to be needed for once, Nerissa almost skips towards the cauldron, I and Snape not breaking eye contact as if this was some sort of glaring competition. Even as Nerissa inspects meticulously the colour of my potion we still ignore her and look straight into each other's eye.

"No that's definitely cyan." Nerissa answers finally, a happy smile on her face: she looks more like an insane house-elf who's just executed an order than a human being.

The second Nerissa's words leave her mouth Snape and I lose eye-contact to glare at the girl, because instead of making one of us happy, she disappointed us both.

"Very well, but cyan is not teal blue, start over again." He grumpily swishes his wand and clears my cauldron of all blue liquid (to make everyone happy). I have to rush through making the potion once more to finally get the result: deep purple.

"Melaina!" I whisper forcefully trying to attract the girl's attention, but to no avail she seems very busy, her spoon in mid air, mouth slightly opened as she stares at… As I follow her gaze I can barely believe what I see, I thought it'd be a boy, or maybe something shocking like Snape bending to retrieve something and in the process showing some of his undergarment (not that this ever happened before, neither is likely to happen, I hope not! Wouldn't want my eyes to bleed!) But there's nothing of the sort welcoming me as I reach her object of interest: Snape himself. Not Snape lap dancing, neither Snape crawling and mimicking a toddler, but purely and simply the man himself in all his glory…wait don't get me wrong there, he's not even naked, but watching her expression closely I have that vague idea that she _wishes _Snape would be naked.

"Melaina!!" I try again, this time managing to get her attention successfully but it's too late as Snape stands up from his desk and calls it a close, we have to let our potions brew for five minutes and then the lesson will be over. I decide to give it a rest, Melaina's attention has derived once more anyways: she's now staring avidly and dreamily at Snape walking around his robes bellowing behind him.

"What was _that_ about?" I ask her once we're a little away from the potion's classroom, heading to the great hall for lunch.

"I'd like to know that too!" She answers giving an accusing look my way. I stop dead in my tracks, the gap between both of us growing as she doesn't care to stop and wait for me. It's as if she's too stubborn to give away any sign of appreciation or liking towards me and I can't stop wondering what _that_ was all about. We eat in silence, from my part out of pride because she ignored me twice! And from her part…well I don't know. I still have to, and will, find out. Let's analyze the situation. Part one: Melaina stares at Snape, ignoring whatever happens around her. Part two: she's angry at me since Potions. Now let's think about this eventually, what happened in potions that might have gotten Mel mad at me. Apart from the fact that Snape and I had a colour and staring competition.

I always found it weird how I always discovered the most horrible secrets while having a happy thought just by having it spoiled by said secret. The secret in this situation being that Melaina likes him, she likes Snape! I dare a look over at the girl who's being busy eating some bread glancing side wards at the head's table. Yes she likes him. Before I can even ask her anything about it (read: push the matter on and on until she breaks down out of irritation and tells me everything) she gets up and announces solemnly that she has to go to Divination right away because it's a long way walking. And with these words she leaves the room to let me think deeply of her crush on Snape, could it be another after effect of the evil potion spilling of doom?

Saturday the 25th of September.

Another groan escapes from Melaina's mouth, but I don't reply to it. We haven't talked since yesterday's discussion, not that she hasn't tried any form of approach, on the contrary, she's tried to talk to me more than once, but somewhere in my pride I got hurt by her accusations and evil secrets of crushes (my crush is because of the potion spilling of couuurse so completely normal and innocent and not to be talked about).

"I'm going to kill that stupid nipul next time I see him, how dares he giving that sort of impossible task, I hate him!" She starts, more talking to herself than to me. But being the stupid person I am in the morning (3 PM) I just have to retort a very witty remark.

"Lupin's just doing his job, and so far he's managing it quite well!!" If that's not the most nerdish thing that has left my mouth I don't know about it anymore.

"You like him!" She says on an accusing tone, only the pointing finger is missing to make me feel completely bad about my blunder.

"What, who?" I ask, hoping that somehow by some abnormal miracle she might just be accusing me of liking somebody else.

"Lupin, the choco-freak, you LIKE him! You have a crush on him! I just know!" Alright, now is the time to freak out. Of course a normal person would use her newly discovered crush on Snape as blackmail, only one detail missing here: I'm not a normal person.

"Oh please, you've been pairing me up with almost all teachers I approved since…since you dared speaking to me." I retort instead, trying a tactic with no future: the subtle change of conversation.

"Well you look quite evil from the outside." She admits, softening at once.

"Why thank you." I retort giving her the coldest of looks, the ones I manage very well.

"No but seriously, since when? Can I be godmother?" I visibly sink back in my chair at her exclamation looking around the room hoping nobody's eavesdropping.

"Ugh! ..him, alright? And besides it would just be completely wrong!" I finally respond feeling slightly irritated, though I can't stop from noticing myself that I added the last sentence in a hopeless afterthought, as if asking her to contradict me and give me hope for any future relationship between the teacher and I…alright…what if I like him? Oh no I'm mad!

"Why that?" She asks, looking wide-eyed and dumbfounded as if nobody would ever find the slightest of objection against such a relation.

"One: he's a teacher, two: he's older." I tick off on my fingers but before I can finish my complete argumentation she stops me.

"Oh please, teacher _teacher_, since when has that stopped you, and _age_, age is just a number!" She retorts leaving me silent for a moment now.

"You're speaking as if I've had a bunch of obsessive relationships with my teachers!" I finally reply rather outraged.

"You haven't?" I give her a horrified look as a response which only makes her laugh. "But sincerely, this is not about having sex, it's just about a crush…which-could-eventually-lead-to-sex…but it's innocent, it's…healthy! Yea that's the word: healthy." She repeats slowly as if talking to a mental person, asking him for the way to some place…which would make no sense come to think of it, you don't ask a mental the road to anywhere! Must keep that in mind, certainly at Hogwarts, lots of mental cases walking around, think of Rose.

"Right…healthy…" I repeat, not so sure about it all myself anymore.

Sunday the 26th of September.

Had prefect duties yesterday evening and it went like almost all prefect duties I've had so far: I march down the sector I have to keep an eye on once, then go to the prefect bathrooms for half an hour reading a book on the loos. This is just in case someone would ask me where I was (Percy) I can always use the excuse that I was on the loos. Then I do another round, and so forth until it's over.

Today is a special day, as I'm already exclaiming for a good ten minutes to Melaina (all grudges have seemingly gone by, read in this that I've finally decided to let go the accusation she made and finally talk to her again.)

"In one month it's my birthday!" I repeat once more in a sing song voice, as if asking for everyone to actually congratulate me and start thinking of a surprise party.

"Good for you, I can't wait till we're then, I'm already planning something for your 18th birthday!" I give the big puppy smile at Melaina's more than appreciated remark.

"Since it's almost my birthday, you can help me with Lupin's essay, eh? I still need an ending to it!" I smile even broader shoving the parchment to her every so slightly.

"Ehm…I'll see what I can do." She grins back meaning she's still got to start her own and will probably need more my help than me hers. Ah friends reading minds through a simple smile, it's so great how this completely freaks non-friends out!

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